


Memento Mori

by Astrodragons (CelestialKnight)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, I should probably say there's literally nothing sexual it's only M bc of like, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Off-screen Relationship(s), Original Character(s), Red Paladin Allura, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Yellow Paladin Shay, ajin au, the first 1-2 chapters, u heard me ajin au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-09-22 08:59:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 31,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9598847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialKnight/pseuds/Astrodragons
Summary: The sensation was not pleasant. That was the understatement of the century, she had to say. But she couldn't. She honestly couldn't. You could easily ask what Katie Holt, average high school junior, because believe it or not she was 5 foot 2 of whoop ass, was doing. If she had said she had been walking home, taking the long way back, staring at the pond where the ducks swam and the sun reflected so softly off the rippling waves only to be caught in a hit and run, the awful sensation of pain would honestlynotbe pleasant andabsolutelythe understatement of the century.





	1. Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Things to note! In the manga, the characters do not have the same eye colour if they are ajin, but in the anime, they all have the same eye colour! I've decided to go with that route instead! If u need any explanations pls feel free to ask! Notes: I love hc lance as team baby, and pidge being older brings joy to my heart, bc being able to be a prodigy and finding it later on in life is smth i really want to see more of in life. Young prodigys are great and all, but... we see them all the time. gimme older prodigies who find their talent later on in life! even if hers isn't _that_ late.

The sensation was not pleasant. That was the understatement of the century, she had to say. But she couldn't. She honestly couldn't. You could easily ask what Katie Holt, average high school junior, because believe it or not she was 5 foot 2 of whoop ass, was doing. If she had said she had been walking home, taking the long way back, staring at the pond where the ducks swam and the sun reflected so softly off the rippling waves only to be caught in a hit and run, the awful sensation of pain would honestly _not_ be pleasant and _absolutely_ the understatement of the century.

Half-conscious, lying limp on the ground, she knew her arm was fractured. Shattered maybe even. She couldn't see anything from crying so much. She couldn't even feel anything so much it was pulsing. There were no words, but hoarse sounds unable to escape her lips. She vaguely heard gravel and skidding. She wished she could reach her phone, call Mommy, Daddy, Mattie. Anyone. God anyone right now who were stricken by mercy for the unlucky. She tried to reach out, but nothing was moving. She tried sobbing, but had trouble breathing. The pounding in her head was progressively getting louder. No that was… it was walking. Multiple footsteps. There was screaming, frantic crying, yelling.

Katie found herself unable to move her neck to look around. The sun before, so kind and caring was now blinding and scarring. It was far too bright to even see. She tried calling out for her mom, but the words came out garbled. She tried reaching out once more, but there was no longer a sensation at the tip of her fingers. She felt someone run their hands through her hair, soothing like her mother’s. Hushing and shushing. Suddenly a pair of arms picked her up. She felt her own arms dangle lifelessly and throb. Were these people kind Samaritans? Kind Samaritans who didn't know the basic of first aid apparently. She couldn't complain. She honestly couldn't she would take any help she could get. Resting on dirt roads alone, in pain was not how she wanted to end her life.

There was one last whisper. She felt hot tears hit her face. She couldn't see who they were. The figures were vague, but there was absolutely more than one. She looked up to the sky, clear and blue. The sun was bright. So very bright. In an instant the sky moved and the arms were gone. A strangled cry blessed the skies. The sound of splashing water and her head hitting the rocks in the pond where the ducks nested. She began sinking, not sure if she was crying anymore, but it wasn't like she could cry in water. The sun was amplified in the water, sparkling like crystals. Slowly as she sunk further away from the rocks and closer to the algae, she realized that this was how… this was how she would spend her final moments. She gasped, trying so so to gasp for the air that hurt her lungs, but there was nothing but dirty water. She tightened her eyes, trying to picture her family, her dog, what she could of been. Who she could've been. So young to be another brushed away by unfortunate circumstances. This was it. This was how it ended for her, by the pond she sat by in the summer, throwing bread to the ducks with her dad and brother and mother. Where she’d play with her dog Gunther, where she told her family she was Katie, where they stargazed at night. Her father telling the family of his space exploits and the places he’d dream of traveling to. Her brother declaring he too would be a great space explore, Katie clapping along joyously, mimicking ‘me too!’ on repeat, her mother laughing in amusement and taking them all in a hug, hoping that at least one of them would stay behind to keep her company while they traveled to galaxies unknown.

It was a quaint Tuesday afternoon that Katie Holt died by the pond she’d always loved.

Or so she thought.

She took a sharp breath of air, feeling in her arms returning. Her chest no longer felt restricted. Well, unless she didn't stay submerged. She swam up, looking around. The ducks were going about their business, tending to their ducklings. She swam over to where she saw her school bag, floating pitifully in the marsh. She picked it up and opened it. Nothing was wet, as to expect of a waterproof bag. She looked around, skid marks on the ground, the car was no longer there and… blood. Dried blood. She looked down to her bloodstained shirt. She tugged at it, trying to understand what was going on. This couldn't be. No no. No no no. She tugged at her shirt with trembling hands. Tears ran down her face. She couldn't be. That wasn't her blood, she told herself. _But it is_ , the back of her mind whispered. _You're an Ajin_. She held back the large gaps that tugged at her vocal cords.

It was the only way she could've come out of that fully healed, not a single injury. She had to make her way home. Quickly. Who could she tell? Could she tell her parents? Yes. She could. Her parents loved her. They wouldn't abandon her even if she was an Ajin. The word was bitter on her mouth. No one could know. Ajin were so new.

Demi-humans. People who couldn't die. When had the first Ajin appeared? 22 years ago? They hadn't covered it yet. Or wouldn't until the next year, if they ever did. Why would they? Ajin were second class citizens. As quickly as one was discovered, they were taken away by the government for who knows what. She had a feeling what exactly that who knows what was now.

Katie took a deep breath. Okay, assess the situation. She was an Ajin. She couldn't die.

‘I can't die.’ She turned around briskly. Looking over her, a contrast in the dazzling sunlight, was a large humanoid, bird like figure. Completely bandaged with wings. No face. No real face. She was petrified, she could not say a single thing. Okay maybe now she could freak out? She tripped on the rocks in the water and shuffled her way up the rockside onto the dirt road. The figure vanished into black particles before she could even react. She stared at it's last known spot.

“ _What the fuck was that_.” She hissed breathlessly. She scurried to her feet and threw her bag onto her back. No. There was no time to worry. She had to get home. She could research once she got home. She could get information. But first. But first she wanted to get home. To pet her dog and hug her family.

It would be, the first, and only time she would say this, but she was glad she was an Ajin, because for one more day she could see her family.


	2. Hit and Run

Her family was quick to protect. She was considering hiding the new information from them, but the bloodstains were too obvious to blame on a nosebleed. Something she had never had in her entire life. So came the hit and run, and so came out the fact she was an Ajin. Her parents reacted well. Within the next week they prepped.

 

Her mom kissed her head, telling her it was as a precaution. A fake ID was never something bad to have, in her position anyway. Her father asked if it was okay to make her fake identity male, and with a few days of thought, she agreed. If need be she could always procure a different fake ID after the first one that was the correct gender. For now, when the time came, she would be known as Pidge Gunderson.

 

“Whatever keeps me safe…” she breathed out, late at night. Her mother and father hugged her lovingly. Matt had taken more time out of his studies to teach her ways to cope with her new found anxiety and together they researched Ajin, seeing if there was anything that could be useful. There were a lot of things, incidents overseas, 47 registered Ajin over the world, many more potentially undocumented.

 

It was late at night. Katie and Matt found themselves sprawled out in Matt’s room, doing research. She was somewhat jealous of Matt’s skills with computers and technology in general. Within a few minutes he was able to gain access to information that was restricted. They did so cautiously and never feverishly. Too much at once was far too suspicious. They needed to be conspicuous.

 

Katie found herself looking at the pictures of each known Ajin. She looked at everyone. Trying to see something she wasn't sure she would find. Suddenly, she noticed a common denominator.

 

“Matt. Holy shit Matt.” She lifted herself up from where she had been lying beneath the covers she had claimed for herself.

 

“What's the matter Katie?” Katie shoved the phone into her brother’s face. He readjusted his glasses. “Those are pictures.” He noted.

 

“Not just pictures Smartass. These are all of the known Ajin. Notice anything in common?” He swiped through the pictures, examining each and every single one. He shook his head. “Look at my eyes.” He looked to her red eyes. They were obviously very different from his own warm brown, but they were warm on their own regard. They were kind of like mahogany? Still brown. Sort of. “Look at their eyes.” He swiped through them all. Each and every single one. Each and every single one had those warm mahogany eyes. This wasn't chance. This was a common denominator.

 

“That’s.” Matt started.

 

“Something even the government doesn't know! I thought black ghosts were something. But this? With this information Ajins aren’t safe.” She hushed the last part, the impact of her discovery hitting her like a ton of bricks. Having something to mark them with was dangerous. So very dangerous. She felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat. A hand found it’s way onto her shoulder. She looked up, to lock onto the reflections in her brother’s glasses. He smiled.

 

“I don’t think that’s their top priority from the research they found, Katie. You’re safe. If you’re really worried, I could get coloured contacts for your birthday?” He offered. She took a minute to calm herself.

 

“Doesn’t that require a prescription?” She vaguely remembered her eye doctor talking about it when she had gone to visit a few years back. Matt paused, his lips forming a flat line. He seemed to be in thought about the conundrum.

 

“Than we’ll just go to your eye doctor.” He declared, finally. Katie raised her eyebrows, but rolled with it. Once her brother got something on his mind, it was hard to get him to change his mind.

 

Researching Ajin was how they often spent their friday nights. Or they did until Matt left for the Galaxy Garrison. They spent that time on the downlow. Matt was at a government institution of course. Getting caught could be even easier, so she did all of the research and Matt walked her through bypassing security protocols. Sometimes during the skype call she would run into Matt’s room to fetch one of his books on the subject to guide her through it when Matt’s “clear and easy instructions” were not clear and easy enough.

 

It had been two years now since the accident when she first discovered she was an Ajin. She hadn’t died any other time. Not even to test it. She didn’t want to go through the pain again. She did test her black ghost though. Apparently they were made up of something called “invisible black matter”. Those files on Ajin were much harder to find, and much harder to require access to. True to the information, her ghost was far more difficult to control in the rain. Over the 2 years, she had gotten better at getting them out for longer periods of time. She could have about 3 for seven minutes each before they disintegrated.

 

All of this information was written in code that only she could read, kept on her at all times. Even at school. Sometimes it got her in trouble in class, but nothing too serious. People would snicker, but she would make nothing on it. She had work she needed to do. Before her discovery, she was studying hard to join the Galaxy Garrison. Now? Now she was doing her damndest to excel in science. Her specialty was radio frequencies and communications. She excelled in the optics of physics. Mechanics not so much. Still, she did her best.

 

Two years since the accident. She remembered reading in the papers about “drunk teenagers arrested for admitting to a ‘hit and run’ they didn’t commit”. Katie involuntarily cringed. She felt her arm twitch. That was pain she never wanted to feel. Ever again. It was the end of the day. Her teacher was reminding them of their college applications. She grimaced. She had forgotten. Her father had rattled off a few, most of them seemed to be in California. She’d apply to those. She wasn’t afraid. She was one of the lucky ones, for the most part.

 

The bell rang. She cleared her stuff up and rose. Before she even stepped foot out of line, her teacher called upon her. She sighed internally. Her teacher just wanted to go over her choices for college, she hadn’t even given any names on the survey. If she needed a reference, they were open to give her one. She said she had a few in mind, it had just been a hectic return to school. The teacher laughed. It had indeed. They let her go and she thanked them.

 

Instead of going home, she decided to go to her club. She didn’t join the science club this time around. Or the Key club for that matter. This year she decided to give herself a break. She joined the art club. To her surprise, the art club was anything but a break, but it was where all the queer kids where at, for the most part. Basically the art club had become synonymous for the lgbt+ club. How… stereotypical. She didn’t mind. Everyone was kind and gave her pointers on drawing. She mostly drew schematics, something she needed to get better at. She improved drastically with the tips and pointers she had gotten.  Maybe one day she could be a great inventor. Then she remembered. Mechanics. Nope. Nevermind.

 

It had gotten late, she sighed and picked her things once more. It was time to head home. She could take the bus this time. It was quicker and she had a bad feeling of walking back down near the pond so close to that two years ago. She balled her fists. It was probably stupid, but damn it her anxiety couldn’t handle it.

 

She tightened her ponytail, the sensation satisfactory for her. She breathed in deeply and headed for the main door. It was dark out. What time was it? 5:30pm? It was pretty late. The sun had begun its descent already. She rubbed her eyes. She prayed not to yawn. If she yawned it was all over. She raised her arms to stretch, the outdoors air smelled nice. She heard loud music in the distance, it must of been some of the kids with cars blasting their music. It was pretty late, but she didn’t question them. None of her business. She’d get home, get her homework done and send Matt a message, ask him for an update.

 

She looked both ways before crossing the street. Sometimes she wondered what the Garrison was like. There was sort of a morbid interest. She rubbed her eyes once more. How tired was she really? She should consider fixing her sleeping schedule.

 

She snorted.

 

Yeah right like that was going to happen.

 

She tugged on the straps of her bag. So she had some AP work to do, but she started that at lunch. If she quickly made her way home, she could get her work done before 8. Then she had time to screw around until 10. Oh man it was what? Thursday? A new episode of a show she’d been following was out today. She was allowed to indulge in her vices. Sometimes she had to Algernon her life.

 

She knew a few backways that could get her home easy, but she often avoided those because well. Teens were stupid when they had cars and too much time to lose. But ya know. Fuck it. She was tired and she had shit to get done. She distanced herself from the school and onto one of the side streets, a one way, with barely any houses in sight. She wasn’t even sure if anyone even lived in those houses. Rumoured had it during the inflation all of these houses were bought than straight up given to the bank. So yes the bank owned these houses. She’d never understand economy. Was this even part of economy? God like she’d know. Her expertise was wavelengths and radio communication. And other aspects of space related sciences. Apart from mechanics. Which she would have to kick herself in the put to get better at, honestly.

 

There was the sound of distant music again. Was it stuck in her head? She groaned. Wait. No it wasn’t stuck in her head. Must be some kids playing it loud from the road over, seeing as she was walking in the opposite direction of the one-way. The music grew louder. It’s not like people were gonna break the rules and go down a one way in the opposite direction, right?

 

Sometimes she wished she’d keep her loud mouth shut.

 

For a second her world was dark. There was screaming. There was loud sobbing. She felt sore, but the feeling was dissipating. Her ears were ringing. She allowed herself to lay face down on the ground. She looked around, no blood. She tried to feel if it was on her. No blood. Clothes? No blood. Okay, okay. She could work with this. Threw the buzzing in her ears she overheard the conversation. There were about 5 people. One was sobbing violently while someone else comforted them. Two were conversing, their voices rapidly growing louder. One was on the phone, talking frantically to what seemed a dispatcher. She noticed red converses. Okay. Okay. The one on the phone talked about how they hit someone and they weren’t breathing. Now or nothing. Katie made a loud groan. Everyone shut up. The only thing heard was the distant voice of the dispatcher. Suddenly everyone spoke again. The two conversing earlier moved over to talk to her. Trying to help her stay awake. She looked at their faces. Not a lick of familiarity. They asked for her name, she responded. It was basic shock evaluation protocol, to an extent. All they were doing was trying to get her to maintain consciousness until the ambulance arrived. The one on the phone was talking frantically again.

 

Most of it was a blur. She was taken in the ambulance. The paramedics were surprised she wasn’t dead, or even severely injured. The police interrogated the driver. This time it wasn’t a hit and run. The people stayed at the scene and cooperated. She wasn’t much sure what happened to them apart from what she read in the newspaper. Her parents didn’t press charges. But the kid got their license removed for 3 months and a hefty fine. The perpetrator was lost to her time in the limelight. She was the miracle child. 63mph was how fast the driver was going. She should have been dead. There was no way she could've walked away from that with the injuries she had. Which were none. She dreaded this time in the limelight. She was in newspapers, her name and face seen across the internet. She was allowed a week off school to recuperate. She spent that time self-teaching herself more about mechanics. Hacking too. It was a valuable skill. A skill which she needed to master direly. Surprisingly, it came very easy to her. Honestly she should have gotten into this sooner. What was she? Almost 18? Never too late to find what your skill is, she thought.

 

She should have dreaded the limelight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I'm v in advance for where I am in this fic and it's p long and i know it's gonna end up being a lot longer. Hope u liked <3


	3. Houston we have a problem

It was a Friday night. Matt and her Dad were supposed to come back for a short visit, it was going to be a long weekend. There was a knock on the door. Her dog barked and she told her mom she’d get it. She put on her slippers and quickly scuttled her way down the stairs. Gunther barked at the door to whoever it was. It wasn’t a welcome home type bark, but a growl. She withdrew. Slowly she approached the door and unlocked it. Opening it ajar, she peaked her head through. **  
**

“Katie Holt?” It was a tall man, military uniform. Galaxy Garrison. Definitely not her father. Too buff, too tall, too mean looking. She tried to slam the door in his face, but he jabbed his foot into the aperture. He tried pushing his way through, and introduced himself into the house. Gunther barking increased.

Katie’s mom came down the stairs to look at the commotion and slowed her descent when she saw who was at the door. She advanced precariously to wards the man and tilted her head. She noticed her husband behind the man, with her son, both looking uncomfortable. She turned her attention back to the visitor.

“Beg your pardon, but who are you?” She tried to keep the underlying venom to a minimum. Who knew who this person was. She eyed him with a scrutinizing gaze. The man smiled sympathetically.

“Sorry about that ma'am. My name’s Joaquin Greene. I’ve been sent here by the Galaxy Garrison to procure Ms. Katie Holt here.” Joaquin looked over to Katie with a smile and a small wave. She grimaced.

“And why’s that?” Colleen, Katie’s mom, was on guard now. She had a feeling where this was headed. She knew this would happen, but this was far too soon even for her own liking.

“She’s an Ajin of course. The department of defense granted us jurisdiction over her.” Joaquin said plainly, as if they were talking about the weather. “You sure made a name for yourself, Miracle Kid. Two car accidents in three years. First time you slipped through our fingers, but it’s hard to hide forever.”

“Katie go upstairs.” Colleen hushed moving in front of her daughter, putting distance between the intruder and her.

“But Mom-”

“Katie. _Now_.” Her voice was harsh. Katie scurried her way up the stairs. Joaquin tried to move, but the mother blocked his path. She was angry. It was always the mother’s, usually, one had to fear. There was a hand on his shoulder, he looked around, the father. He hadn’t told the two why he would be accompanying them back to their home, but now that they knew, they seemed well. Angry, but that was an understatement.  

“Make yourself comfortable, we have some discussing to do in the living room.” Commander Sam Holt gritted through his teeth. Joaquin knew this was going to be far far harder than he had originally thought.

Katie sat curled up in a ball, Gunther rested his head on her lap as she petted him to soothe her anxiety. She could hear the distant chatter from downstairs. She felt herself disassociating. This felt surreal. Her brain was moving on autopilot and she felt like she was watching herself from third person.

There were footsteps that made their way up the stairs. A knock on the door.

“Katie, it’s me. Matt.”  She reached limply for the door handle and with a limp flick of the wrist, the door opened painfully slow. Matt looked around and noticed Katie curled up on the floor. He crouched to be at her eye level. “How’re you feeling?” She didn’t respond, but pet the dog. Matt sighed and ruffled her hair.

“You don’t need to worry bout anything. In two years, Dad n’ I will be taking your place.” He muttered. Katie looked up.

“Why?” Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn’t drank enough water, which she probably didn’t.

“Remember that law? The one about family?” Katie rattled her brain, pushing her tired mind to work. She felt fried as all hell, but she still figured out what he was talking about. Her eyes widened. Anyone who is directly related to an Ajin is by extension assumed Ajin until proven otherwise.

“No no no no. Matt. Don’t. Don’t do- you aren’t Ajin. You- You and Dad don’t- You both don’t-” She began frantically. Gunther looked up and snuggled his head into Katie’s side reassuringly. Matt placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Katie.” She breathed in and breathed out. “It’ll be fine. The mission’s to one of Pluto’s moons, Kerberos. If it wasn’t for the circumstances, it would have been an honour to fly. There’s… Katie don’t give me that face. There’s no need to worry. You’re… You’re safe. As long as we’re around, you’re safe.” He took his sister into a hug, but she still cried. She didn’t like this. She didn’t like this at all. If they were going to ask her for Kerberos, the mission success ratio wasn’t too great. Matt rubbed her back. She didn’t say anything more.

Joaquin Greene was gone by the time she came downstairs to give her father a hug, and the long weekend was spent in morbid silence.  

Preparing for the mission took about two years. There was training, both physical and theoretical. Learning about the goal of the mission, getting along with each other as a crew. Sometimes Matt and her dad brought the person they were able to snatch into the mission back home. They ate supper amiably. His name was Takashi Shirogane. He was a bit younger than Matt, but older than Katie. Though it probably came as a surprise to him that she was close to his own age. She got that a lot. Curse her tiny height. She kind of liked him, he was nice. Had it not been for circumstances, they could've been friends. That wasn't the case, she had to remind herself. She would of been on that mission if it weren't for Matt knowing the law; _if it weren't for her_. She grimaced behind closed doors.

On the matter of Takashi Shirogane; she felt like he didn't know. It was as if this mission was an amazing honour and not a mission with a slim chance. She guessed he was picked because in the end he was expendable. She laid the cards out, it was easy to fabricate a story if the mission went wrong—which she reminded herself _it wouldn't_ —but if she entertained the thought, he was easy to lie through their teeth for. He was young, the youngest pilot to fly. He was 19 when she first met him, now he was 21. They could blame the mission on his failure, despite him being an ace pilot and already having a mission under his belt.

She shook her head. _The mission wouldn't go wrong_. She reminded herself.

While it seemed dandy, she was watched over by the Garrison. Once per week someone would come by and make sure they were still there. It came to the point where they moved to a location closer to the Garrison. Instead of going to a university in person, Katie did her courses online. It was the best they could do. Basically she was under house arrest.

She looked content, but inside she was simmering.

Right now the law was her enemy.

Time went quickly, finally the estimated amount of time passed. It was launch day. They watched from their small tv room. Her mother held onto her tightly, hoping for a successful launch, and it was of course. It was all successful. Everything should have been successful. In about a bit more than half a year they would be home. They weren't sure what they were going to do from there. She didn't know. This was only one obstacle.

She walked down the stairs. She heard the TV from a distance. The reporter's voice bounced off the walls to her ears. It was about the Kerberos mission. She looked on as they announced the crew had been killed due to pilot error. That. That couldn't of been right. They should've informed the family first.

 _This wasn't right_.

Tears welled up in her eyes. This wasn't right. Her mother turned around, her hands covered her mouth. She too was crying. She was crying from grief. To her, she had just lost her husband and her son. Lost them to protect their Katie.

To Katie, she was the causation for this happening, and she wanted to know why this happened. Something was telling her this wasn't right.

Neither of them slept that night. In the following days Colleen received phone calls and made phone calls, sent letters and received letters. Katie on the other hand kept her eye open for more information on the accident. But there was none. There was no explanation to what the pilot error was. What Takashi had done wrong. In the end, if it was pilot error, it would rundown more to system errors, especially with him. Shiro was the best pilot. While pilot error was possible, she doubted it.

She felt on edge as she looked over the information more and more. None of it added up. She knew Takashi Shirogane. She had done her research. This couldn’t have been pilot error. It was exceedingly unlikely. She felt grief and anger all at once, scrolling through tabloids trying to gather the information she needed, trying to gather the information she needed, and yet there were none. Over time she realized, with her brother and dad out of the picture, Katie was without any protection. She felt something form in her throat. She didn’t want to know what would happen to her. It had been two days and no one had come.

She pulled the cover over her head as Gunther snuggled up at her feet. She dug her head into her pillow, trying to sleep and block out her thoughts, but it was hard, it was at the forefront of her eyes. The more she tried to push it back, the more it came to her mind.

There happened to be another thought. Back to the starry nights by the pond, where her mother had said she didn’t want to be left behind. Katie bit her lips. She understood how her mother felt. She too, did not want to be left behind.

There was a knock at her door, and for a second she had thought it was Matt. It was only her mother.

“Katie, Hun, pack everything you can.” That had been rather cryptic. Katie pulled the covers off her face and looked to her mother. Gunther raised his head, obviously excitedly curious about the exchange.

“What, why?”

“We’re leaving.” It was like that she made use of her fake identity, Pidge Gunderson. They moved closer to the Galaxy Garrison. It was a close drive away. They let their aunt watch over the house. She needed a place to stay after her own burned down.

At first she thought of sneaking into the Garrison trying to search for information. That would of been a bad idea. They knew how she looked like, knew her name.  Her alternatives were to hack into the mainframe and find the information herself or tap into their frequencies and intercept messages from them. In the end, it wasn’t enough.

Finally she had her grand idea, enroll into the Garrison. She told her mother she needed to do this. Colleen wasn't going to stop her. She took her daughter in a strong hug and whispered encouraging words into her ear.

“Make your father and brother proud, Katie.” Katie felt her lip quiver, but she blinked back tears. She’d enroll in the Galaxy Garrison. She would find information. First she’d have to change information. Her age, for starters. If she marked it down as 20, it was obvious that she could be Katie Holt. She made it the bare minimum, 18. She’d need to change something general about her appearance. Her hair and her eyes. She bit her lips in reprehension. She took so long to grow her hair out. It was sad to see it go, but she had greater goals she needed to achieve. She could grow it back once everything was said and done. But even than hair could only do so much. Eyes were an important factor to appearance. She remembered what Matt said from what felt like a long time ago. Coloured contacts. She couldn’t go to an eye doctor, here was to hoping to the research she could do. If anything she remembered drama contacts they’d use, in well, drama. All she needed was to procure a different colour. Brown? Brown was a common colour. Yes that would do.

What else? Well she needed to apply. She needed fake information, fake school information. That couldn’t be too hard. She’d learned how to fake information. Her mother could help. Her mother had been to one who acquired her fake ID in the first place.

A thought struck her. This was it. She was really doing it. She parted her curtains and looked up to the stars. Her father was up there somewhere, as was her brother, as was the pilot. She’d find out the truth. Her lips formed a flat line and her eyes were determined. She’d find out what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first time after this fandom pissed me off writing a shippy fic isn't giving me high key anxiety. i don't even feel pressured to write this?? amazing. Anyway Pidge's introductory arc is done! Stay tuned for Lance's debut next update!


	4. It's 2025

Lance Fuentes Almodóvar wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of death. Or dying. Or anything that involved the idea of thanatos, despite past tendencies. Dying in an explosion though, he had to say, may have, in the past, been one of his top 10 ways to kick the bucket. Currently though, he was praying for anything _but_. Sometimes meeting a giant robotic space cat really changed your opinion on that. He didn’t just _not_ want to die. He _aggressively_ wanted to live. He hadn’t even returned Pidge his headphones for chrissake! **  
**

On the bright side, at least he’d protected Coran.

He saw memories flash before his eyes. He was looking into the mirror, his mother and father beside him. His reflection was that of a child with long brown hair, rosy chubby cheeks and frilly clothes. His eyes were not that of his parents. Blue and hazel. Those were his parents. He was the startling mahogany that earned him whispers. When he had turned five, he began to wear coloured contacts. It was only on official pictures or things alike he took them off. Apart from that, the world knew him with blue eyes.

The Galaxy Garrison obviously didn't seem to care. As long as he did well. And did well was, well, what he tried to do. Whenever he felt too overconfident, he bombed. Which was about 50% of the time. The other 50% he put up a confident persona to make up for the anxiety and self-doubt. He was sure his team saw through it. Hunk knew. What didn't he know? Especially when the person in question _is your roommate_. He never even questioned the contact lenses. A true pal. Pidge just seemed to ignore him, or roll his eyes at Lance. Sometimes Pidge would snicker at his jokes, which filled Lance with pride, other times Pidge would just groan. It was really a coin toss with his com’s guy.

Space wasn't as kind. Especially being a Paladin of Voltron. Soon he'd have to dump them and explain to the team why his eyes were a startling red and not the dark blue they had been so used to. Couldn't wait for that moment. Wo ho. Maybe that moment would never come, he thought, if he was going to die now. Right now at the beginning of their quest. How lame was that?

He remembered his mother hugging him and telling him he was a good kid. He remembered hair ruffles and warm hugs. He remembered his little sister. Wishing good luck before he left for the Garrison. It’d suck he couldn't ever see her again.

He finally fell to the ground; it felt like an eternity. The ground was cold. At least Coran was safe. At least…

When he had woken up again. It was to black particle banded hands guiding his own. He was too dazed to know what he was doing. There was so much going on and he felt like he had been hit by a bus. He felt like everything was underwater and his head pounded. There was a bitter iron taste in his mouth  that was slowly culminating. He felt even worse than when he had been hit by the bomb. Had he been hit again? He felt like his armour was crushing him. He looked down. Oh. Of course there would be a painful glowing gash on his side and yes. His suit was in fact crushed. And slowly readjusting himself, but stopped. Altean magic was weird and he didn't want to understand it. Especially with the pounding in his ears. He winced and slowly looked around once more. Pidge and Shiro were fighting Sendak and Pidge wasn't doing so well. Keith was close to him. He wasn't sure on which side. Right? Left? God if he knew. He didn't even know what was going on.

All he really knew what he was doing next was feeling his arms being raised, and the clawed particle hands pulling the trigger on his gun, saving Pidge, before collapsing once more. He was pretty sure he saw Keith. Or maybe? Really, once again, blur. Giant ass blur.

For one, waking up in a standing position was not his most favourable position. Waking up with _his contacts still on_ was even worse. _Was that even healthy?_ God if he knew. He tipped to the side as he moved out. Nope, he was too tipsy to even take them out. Maybe Hunk would be a pal and help him? Yeah. Yeah he would. He wandered his way over and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey Hunk, buddy, could I ask you a favour?” His voice sounded hoarser than he wanted. He blinked, tired. The next he knew he was in a bone crushing hug, barely able to breath. Hunk put him down talking quickly, rattling off things, asking how he was feeling, if he was okay, and anything else he was currently.

“I'll definitely feel better if you could take my contacts off.” He deadpanned.

“You're still wearing them?” Hunk asked surprised by that fact.

“Would you still be able to see?” Shiro piped up, out of the blue. He turned his head to Allura, “would it be possible-”

“They're coloured contacts. No corrective properties. And they're bugging me like hell. I really don't wanna cut a vein in my eye with my nails trying to take them off.” Lance widened his eyes to let Hunk do his magic.

“Why are you even wearing those?” Keith’s voice was incredulous. Lance blinked a few times, sighing in relief. Hunk handed him his contacts and he pocketed them.

“Guess they're going in the garbage now.” Lance muttered to himself. He turned his head to Keith, his mahogany eyes sending Keith an uncaring glare. From the corner of his eyes Lance noted Pidge stiffen and Shiro’s eyes widen for a brief second, as if something clicked into place. Weird. “Reasons. Which you aren't privy to by the way. Oh don't look surprised I know fancy words mr. I wear a mullet in 2035.” Keith muttered ‘it's 2025’ angrily under his breath. Lance waved him off. Shiro gave Keith some reassurance.

“What are coloured contacts?” Allura asked curiously, she was glancing to the objects to be discarded in Lance’s pocket. Human culture was vastly different to Altean culture. Instead of being a chameleon species like her own, they found ways to modify their appearance on their own.

“Contacts are a lense, concave or convex, used to correct abnormalities in the eyes, and, unlike my glasses, are applied directly onto the eyes, usually custom fit. In Lance’s case, his coloured contacts hold no corrective capabilities and are solely there to change the colour of his eyes. In most cases people do this for aesthetic purposes.” Allura nodded her head to Pidge’s explanation.

“Marvellous. Humans have many interesting things.”

Lance glanced back to Pidge, his explanation seemed off. It was the last lines that bugged him. ‘In most cases’. A peculiar choice of words. Not to mention the looks he was getting from the guy. Even in space he was still being mysterious. He felt Shiro’s hand on his shoulder, telling him it was good he was okay.

Allura called out to him, the rest of the Paladins excusing themselves for other things. He raised an eyebrow, but smirked to her. She only rolled her eyes before crossing her hands one atop of the other.

“Lance, there’s something Coran and I would like to ask you.”

“I would gladly-” there was a sly smirk on his face. Coran coughed loudly, cutting him off before he said anything. He was really good at helping getting the subject back on topic. “Sure, ask away princess.” Allura smiled.

“Thank you. Now Coran, could you pull up the files from the healing pod?”

“Of course, princess.” Coran trotted his way over to the healing pod. With a few taps, information illegible to his eyes was displayed in front of them. Allura looked over them with a pout on her face.

“Uh, what exactly is this?” He asked. Information switched in a pattern quickly.

“Well, it is the information the healing pod gathered from you to aid in your healing.”

“Oh.” His voice dropped worriedly. Oh he didn't want to have to explain things he wasn't comfortable explaining to aliens.

“It's your quintessence. There seems to be a never ending supply. As if you cannot die.” Lance felt a sigh, before the words caught his ears and he looked up panicked.

“Wait, what?” He voice hitched, and the Alteans flinched.

“Yes, it's quite strange. I remember humans having incredibly low quintessence to match low lifespans. But yours? It’s as if you cannot die, like your quintessence is a living being of its own. Did humans evolve over the last ten thousand years?” Coran asked curiously. Lance panicked. He had no idea what was going on. Or he did. He did have an inkling of an idea at the back of his mind. He didn't want to say it. Nope. No no nope.

“I got to- Go. Do, uh, paladin things. Yeah. _Paladin things_.” He awkwardly finger gunned them both before leaving them in a tizzy, tripping on his feet along the way.

Allura and Coran looked to one another perplexed.

“Was it something I said?” Allura turned to Coran for guidance. He only shrugged.

Lance had been barricade up in his room. It took a few tries to get him out and a few Paladins, each with their own different approach. First it was Hunk. He was kind and encouraging and also sort of cooing him out like a cat. Keith wasn't helpful and frustratedly banged on his door when Lance wasn’t responding. There was a meek knock, which he assumed was Pidge, but there was no other. It was Shiro that had been able to coerce him out of his room. It was a mix of Hunk and a watered down version of Keith. There was caution in his words as he was able to get Lance to peek his head out and finally, his entire body. Everyone else assumed—or believed for that matter, he was very good a persuasion when it came to his personal health—it was from the bombing, and accepted it as recuperation. Once out he was back to being his chipper self. He decided he wanted to forget. Not bother himself with it. Let the thought pass. If he tried to block and reject it, it would come back stronger, like all intrusive thoughts. He wasn't going to let it cause him anxiety.

He wasn't an Ajin. All it was was an obsessive intrusive thought that he was going to let pass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tfw u realize it was memento mori and not momento mori w h o o p s. oh man things get so hectic later on but also person of interest changes too so sorry about that, that's just how things are. also tfw u project onto u favs. whoop whoop sorry everyone y'all aren't gonna have fun.


	5. Sure, Jan

Helping the Balmerans; surprisingly easy. He wasn't really sure why, but many, many Galra soldiers often ran away when they saw him coming down. He smirked to himself. He must of had an _amazing_ reputation for them to act in such way. Keith called it circumstantial. He pouted dishearteningly. He would have liked to enjoy one thing. Just one thing with the guy. He was, he begrudgingly admitted, a pretty okay guy. But Keith, _just let him have one thing_.

The Castle going paranormal activity on him? _Hell no_. He almost died twice. Twice! Coran’s info about his quint-what? Quintessence? Whatever his life energy was be damned. First the cryopod’s then getting _ejected into space was **not**_ how he wanted to end his life. Absolutely not on his top ten list. At least Keith was there. It was, still, so totally haunted. And the black ghost he saw lurking in the corners of the halls? That Keith somehow _couldn't see_? Terrifying. Though Lance was pretty sure he was being oblivious.

Though the ghost he saw was almost catlike. A tail, claws and ears. Definitely cat. Still. Not very reassuring. Then the bird, was it a bird? After running around for a while looking for the others he saw the bird. He tugged on Keith’s shirt, but he wasn't looking to where Lance was.

“Lance!” It was Hunk’s voice. He saw Hunk, followed by Pidge, running towards them. The bird was gone. “Oh buddy, my man am I glad to see you!” Another bone crushing hug.

“ _Hunk, glad to see you too but I need to breathe_.” He spoke hurriedly, out of breath. Hunk looked at him awkwardly, patted his shoulders and mumbled ‘right’ and finally a drawn out ‘right’. Lance breathed in, breathed out and then got his back tapped—more like slapped—in affection. Sometimes he wondered if Hunk knew his own strength.

“I gotta ask you something, has the castle been… spooky lately?” Lance hushed to Hunk, leaning in and whispering in his ear for dramatic effect. Keith face palmed while Pidge only rolled her eyes. Hunk looked back to Lance and nodded.

“Yeah, me and Pidge we were like, attacked in the kitchen and then the gravity went all funky when we were examining the crystal.” Hunk started off slowly. “I tried kicking Pidge over to get the gravity to turn back on and she missed and I honestly thought we were goners for a while and it suddenly turned back on, like magic! I mean this entire castle is made of magic, but you know what I mean.” By the time he was done he was out of breath from talking so quickly, trying to get all the information out. He looked to both Lance and Keith. “What about you guys?”

“Gladiator.” Keith’s one word reply. Hunk winced.

“Death by cryopod and then almost ejected into space. If it wasn't for Keith over here well… anyway.” Lance waved his hand in a vague attempt to draw on the thought he dropped as well as in dismissal.

“So it's definitely not a localized problem.” Pidge muttered. Their attention was brought to Pidge for only a meet second before it deviated to someone else.

“Hey, has anyone seen Shiro?” Keith looked around. Lance shrugged.

“At Sendak’s creepy cryopod. Kind of staring off into the distance. Tried grabbing his attention a few times. Let me say I was there a _pretty_ long time.” Lance stretched his muscles in an attempt to give an approximation for the amount of time he had spent with Shiro while everyone else sort of ditched. Kind of felt bad for the guy, but by the end of it it was kind of worrisome, ya know?

“Should he- should he be there?” Hunk asked suddenly after a moment of silence. There must of been a collective understanding that no. Shiro should not be there. Because they booked it. Or well tried to book it anyway. There was a tug on Lance’s jacket that stopped him from doing anything.

“Lance I got to ask you something.” Pidge’s voice was rather serious. Not in how he normally heard her serious but in a grave serious way that really set the hairs on the back of his neck up.

“Maybe might be a bad time-”

“Lance! Pidge! You guys coming?” Hunk yelled out to them from the other end of the corridor. Keith tapped his foot and had his arms crossed. Losing a minute of precious time when something ludicrous could happen was not what he wanted to think about.

“Yeah, yeah! We're coming!” Lance grabbed onto Pidge’s wrist and dragged her along with him. He turned his head back to glance at her. “Maybe later, once we figure out why the ship’s gone poltergeist.” Pidge turned away after she raised her eyes to look at him. Yeah, later. Later would be better.

When they finally arrived, Keith was kneeling beside a hunched over Shiro. Sendak was nowhere to be seen. Hunk put his hands on both of their shoulders, pulling them out of the bay.

“We should go find Allura.” Hunk’s voice was coldly determined. Both Pidge and Lance turned their heads look back at their leader for the briefest of moments. That not the persona of a brave man, but the face of a boy ravaged by war.

Finding her was not the hard part, by all means. The hard part was having her father’s rogue AI attempting to drive them into an imploding star, which she believed was Altea. Coran had been the one to deduce that. It took much urging to help her, and her father’s real AI was able to convince her to destroy his memories to save them. None of them slept well that night, despite the appearances they attempted to put up.

There was a knock at Lance’s door. It was, what he assumed anyway, late in the evening. He wasn't exactly sure at first who exactly was the one knocking. He originally thought it was Hunk, then he remembered Hunk going to talk to Coran to learn more of how the ship worked. He raised an eyebrow. No idea who'd need him now.

The person knocked again.

“Doors unlocked.” He yelled from where he sat on his bed. The door swooshed open, leaving a short brunette twiddling her thumbs in its wake. “Oh. Hey.”

Pidge walked through, the silence was awkward. “Hey.” She returned. They stood in silence, not really sure what to do with one another. They hadn't peculiarly talked much to one another. At the Garrison they also weren't that chummy chummy. She had things to do and Lance was desperately trying to maintain his status as fighter class. Their paths didn't cross often. Now though, now the stakes had changed and their paths were jumbled together in an intermingling mess. It was hard to find one’s way.

“You can sit on the bed. If you want.” He patted the space next to him.

“Uh. Sure.” Pidge kicked off her shoes and sat crossed legged on the bed. The air felt awkward and tense. They avoided eye contact with one another, looking directly in front of them. Pidge groaned angrily.

“Lance. I need to ask you something. Did you see a bird before you met up with me and Hunk?” She curled her fists. Lance turned his head to look down at her.

“Yeah. Wasn't that just Alfor’s AI going rogue though?” He raised his eyebrow, perplexed. Pidge sighed.

“No… no that was a… a black ghost.” She exhaled.

“A black what.” She was expecting no less. It wasn't information released to the public about Ajin. Would cause too much of a panic.

“A black ghost. It's made out of this thing called invisible black matter, ibm for short. Something that Ajin produce… and only Ajin can see.” She raised her head to him, and the look in his eyes was the look of someone who had just been slapped in the face. He probably had doubts about being Ajin. He didn't want to believe it. Who wouldn't? It wasn't a life of gold, diamonds and rubies ahead, but that of hardship, blood and loss.

“Come again?” His voice hitched. Not highly; very subtle, but enough for her to notice. She sighed. She knew she'd have to come to this. She cleared her mind, she hadn't done this often, only recently had she been doing this on a frequent basis.

Before them stirred a bandage clad figure. It looked like a bird, or avian type figure. It had wings on its back and had a more pointy face that could be considered a beak. The ghost from earlier.

“This is my black ghost Hypatia.”

Lance stared blankly. He stared blankly into the void. All he could hear in his head was a small chorus of ‘hello darkness my old friend’ in a slow crescendo. Pidge waved her hand in front of his face. No answer.

“Uh Lance. Earth to Lance?” He was just gazing at the wall across from him. She snapped her fingers. Still nothing. Her eyes fell and now she found herself impatient, but she knew she couldn't be. This was the first other Ajin she had met before. A teammate no less. If she screwed this up…

“Huston…” He finally mumbled. “You've got to be fucking kidding me.”

* * *

 

  
“Okay so repeat this to me again.” Lance’s voice still had the crystal clear sound of skepticism. Pidge groaned.

“You're an Ajin.”

“Uh huh.”

“You can't die.”

“Um hm.”

“You have a black ghost that no one else but other Ajin can see.”

“Right.”

“Do you need me to repeat again?” She asked frustratedly.

“No I understood the first time.” There was such a look of pure betrayal, disgust and offence. “I just needed to hear it again for it to sink in. But are you sure?” He leaned in. “Are you absolutely positively sure?”

“Yes.” She insisted.

“And how do you know? What makes you so sure?” Pidge pulled off her glasses and sighed.

“One, you can see Hypatia. If you give it a shot you too could summon yours. Two, I've seen your black ghost. 3. Your eyes.” She numbered them off on her fingers. She turned his head to him when she mentioned the eyes.

“Uh, my eyes?” He furrowed his eyebrows. She removed the contacts on her eyes. Mahogany gazed back into mahogany. Lance’s eyes widened. A colour he’s only ever seen on himself.

“All Ajin have our eye colour. Lance, it might be hard to believe, but you're an Ajin.”

“Sure Jan.” He deadpanned.

Pidge looked to him like he had grown a second head. “Did you just… meme as a way to cope with information?”

“Yes…?”

She breathed in and took a moment to clear her head. She stood up and walked away from the bed. Hypatia crinkled back to life. The black particles were coming specifically from Pidge. She pulled out her glasses and rubbed them on her shirt. A question formed in Lance’s mind.

“So you wear coloured contacts right?” Pidge seemed to have been hit by a wall once again.

“Yes.” Harsh.

“So why wear glasses if you could of had prescription contacts?” Okay she had to admit that was a good question. She placed her glasses back atop of her eyes. She'd need to disinfect her contact when she got back to her room. Who knew how long she'd have left. There was a lack of time in space.

“Aesthetics.” Her reply was curt.

“You're serious?”

“In advance I'd like to say sorry.” She brushed off the previous question and moved onto the point. Lance found himself confounded. What was she sorry for? She turned her head to Hypatia and nodded. Before he knew it there were talons in his face. He covered his face out of reflex, but nothing came. He slowly pulled away his hands. A looming figure, far taller than Hypatia, blocked the blow. The same catlike ghost he had seen in the halls.

“Holy…” He trailed off. He found himself slowly relaxing as both black ghosts began to dissipate. In the corner of his room, Pidge readjusted her contacts and glasses. How long she still had, he didn't know, but it must of been coming to an end soon. “Was that…?”

“Your black ghost? Yes, it absolutely was.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll still update this but im going through a lot, i feel terrible and i want nothing to do with fandoms anymore tbh. it's just discourse now. any fandom i try to go into is just discourse and if anyone criticizes something i enjoy i want to die s o.


	6. They don't call me the tailor for nothin’

It was late at night. She called him out when she was sure no one else would be around. They stood in the training area. It was clear. Or would remain clear until they gave a command.

Lance felt himself tense in front of the short girl. Tense in awkwardness anyway. He wasn't sure what they were going to do. Well, vague idea anyway, but usually his vague ideas tended to be wrong so it was always good _not_ to listen to them.

“Soooooo” he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “What're we here for?” He looked around the room. As white and faintly glowing blue as it’d ever be.

“Training.”

“Training?” Pidge nodded her head and readjusted her glasses. She wasn't wearing her contacts, preferring to be able to mooch how much time she had with them left.  “Don't we already do that. During the day. When Allura wants to whoop us into shape.” Pidge nodded again.

“Yes, but this isn't paladin training.” She turned around, her back facing Lance. “This is Ajin training.”

In the blink of an eye, Hypatia was in his face. His doge was last minute, but he was able to dodge.

“Pidge! Are you trying to kill me?” He scurried into his feet and dodged the next hit aimed at his chest. God Hypathia was a fast one. Pidge was still facing the back of him.

“Than summon your black ghost.”

* * *

 

“You know, Pidge’s been kind of, not here lately?” Hunk looked around from where he was supposed to meet her to help filter through Sendak’s memories. Coran turned his head to him, his eyebrows raised.

“She’s been spending most of her time in the training deck with Lance.” Coran turned back to what he had previously been filtering through. He was examining files, or more like cross analyzing them. On his ‘free’ time he tended to do that.

“Well,” Hunk drew out the last syllables. “I could use a break.” He stretched his arms with an audible moan. Man he was stiff. He gave a glance back to Coran, but shrugged it off. It was probably some complicated altean tech he had yet to understand. Which he shouldn't attempt to understand because he would end up finding himself lost for days enthralled in trying to understand how it worked.

Coran did not notice Hunk’s departure, too wrapped up in the information. He had been searching the ship's databank on humans. There was something off about the previous information they had held ten thousand years ago and their current example, Lance. If only he had another current example to examine with. He did not want to put the other Paladins in cryo unless they were injured. None were currently injured. Maybe he could ask another paladin? Lance’s answer from the previous occasion was obvious that he would not answer and attempt to squirm his way out of it every single time. Hunk was with him, right?

“Hunk is it alright-” Coran turned around. There was no one, but the memories. “Oh.”

“Is there something you needed Hunk for?” Coran heard a voice call out to him. He turned around, seeing Shiro walk up to him. There were bags under his eyes, but he looked better than the previous days.

“Oh no, you’ll do! Is it alright to ask you something?”

“Uh, sure?” Shiro wasn't peculiarly sure what Coran’s question would. He had a gut feeling it wasn't going to be good.

Coran swiped the information on a small tablet and gestured for Shiro to walk with him. Shiro turned his head back as they distanced themselves from the area, Pidge, Hunk and Lance entering the room.

“It's about humans, well more like their lifespans. They’ve seemed to have evolved exponentially compared to our data.” Shiro eyed Coran carefully.

“Yes, since the Mesolithic, era humans life spans have been able to reach over a hundred years of age.” There was a pause. “In human years.” Coran nodded his head and locked back to the information.

“Well that's odd.” He muttered to himself. Coran tugged on his moustache. No, no. It was not adding up. This was far far more than one hundred human years. More than ten thousand years.

Shiro leaned over, but the notes were illegible. No literally, they were in a language he could not understand. It would probably for the best if he get on learning that soon. Shiro opened his mouth to reply but their was a cry of triumph. Both men looked to one another. Best to return to see what that was about.

Going through Sendak’s memories, they had found an invisible intergalactic hub. There they could gather information. There, they could finally get a lead in this war.

* * *

 

Pidge sat herself beside Lance in the training deck. His shirt was bloodied and cut, but he looked unscathed. He panted heavily. She handed him a bag of water.

“How’re you feeling?” Lance turned his head to her.

“Oh you know,” he panted, “just peachy.” Pidge frowned. Sarcasm R Us was not appreciated. “Better, but you could be less harsh. Dying isn't fun you know?” He breathed in a deep breath.

Pidge sighed and cupped her chin and cheeks between her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.

“Can't learn if I'm holding back… though I am sorry.” She muttered the last part.

“Are you really?” His voice hitched a bit. A yes, incredulity and mockery. She rolled her eyes.

“Wow ye of little faith. I am, but we have little time before a next fight and a hands on approach _is_ the best way to learn for you.” Her reasoning was sound. Curses.

“Okay true, but still. Less dying please.” He refuted.

“You’d die less if you didn't suck at blocking.” She spoke flatly. He opened his mouth to reply, but then shut up. She was right. He sucked at blocking. He wasn't a close range fighter. Pidge obviously was far better at short range than he was.

He rubbed his hands on his pants and stood up.

“Alright. If I'm able to block a series of your attacks without dying, I get to make a fart joke, in your presence.” Pidge looked at him with disgust, but considered his chances. Yeah slim to none.

“And if you don't?” She leaned in, her eyes calculating. Lance grinned; she was interested. “Do I get something out of this?” Oh there it was.

“Whatever you want.” Pidge smirked and leaned forward, her arm extended for a handshake.

“Deal.” The two shook hands. Lance walked away from his partner while Pidge left her bagged drink at a distance away from them. She brushed her looses strands out of her face, now long enough to distractingly dangle in front of her eyes. If Pidge asked him to do her hair, he personally wouldn't mind.

Pidge yawned, a smug look on her face. There was a trickle of doubt in Lance’s stomach. He didn't like how she was acting, as if she had already had this in the bag and that there was some sort of joke he couldn't comprehend. Then he felt himself being lifted. Oh. Of course. He reached for the claws digging into his skin. Too late he missed his dodge and he was going to die. Again. He was dropped to the ground. Pidge kneeled beside him, a grin on her face.

“So about that bet?” She pushed back her glasses. He glared at her smirk that was burning his way into his retina.

“I really don't like you.” She patted his head and his mind finally went static white. Not a few seconds later he gasped for air. God he still couldn't get over the fact he experienced death over and over and over like a repeating cycle.

Pidge was cleaning up the last of the stains thanks to the supplies she had prepared beforehand. It was a diluted concentration he didn't know the name of nor did he want to know of.

He rubbed his head and pulled himself off the ground. Pidge disposed of the bloodied cloth into some shot that opened up in the floor.

“Okay, you won. What you want?” He dug his hands into his pockets. He eyed her as he jokingly pressed a finger to her chin and snapped her fingers like an idea had soured into her mind.

“First off, I’d like a piggy back ride to my room.” Okay that he could do. It's not like he wasn't used to doing that with his younger siblings, plus she was, and he would never say this to her face unless he craved death, very small, like incredibly tiny.

He crouched his knees and he hoisted her onto his back, her head laying in the crook of his shoulder. Her breathing was slow, she must of been beat. Who could blame her though? She trained him on end and held sleepless nights.

“Take the less used halls. There are like 20 holes in your shirt and it's caked in blood.” She slurred tiredly from where she rested. He tried to look back at her, but made out a blurry figure in his vision.

“And whose fault is that?” She rolled her eyes. She was not unfamiliar with the concept of sarcasm. It was an old flame, constantly igniting.

“Less talky more walky.” She urged in a whisper. Lance muttered an ‘aye aye captain’ before making their way off their rooms. It was quiet. A bit too quiet. The pale blue lights feel eerie, despite blue always being associated with a good colour. The good side. Now they felt ominous. The weight of the world on them. It was crushing. He was wrong actually. It wasn't just the weight of the world, it was the universe. If they failed, it would be on their heads. Okay. Great motivation.

“Your shoulders’re tense.” She muttered into his shirt. Lance breathed in. Right Pidge was still on his back.

“‘S fine.” He shrugged off. Yeah no he was fine it wasn't a big deal. He’d let the thought pass. He wasn't here to over analyze things. Just keep up with the confidence amped up. For yourself and for the others.

“That's not the answer of someone whose fine.” Pidge lead on skeptically. God he hated someone who's been in his position. Basically he hated everyone on the team minus Keith and Allura, who were oblivious to all. Hunk knew. Honestly what didn't Hunk know. He might try to constantly lighten the mood, ways to cope with stress, but Hunk knew stress and anxiety, and knew Lance’s invisible signs.

Shiro was Shiro. Trauma ages people and makes them more observant. Not to say he wasn't observant before it all. He always acted so much older than he actually was. It was hard to remember he was a teen despite his appearance. He constantly reminded himself Shiro was only a few years older than him and everyone else. Lance wondered when they got back home if it would be the same for him and everyone else. _If_ they got back anyway.

Pidge well. He was sure she was observant. Positive. She needed to to live peacefully as an Ajin. Constantly on the lookout for what could harm her and others like her. Not to say the loss of her family didn't add anything to her observant nature because it sure as hell did. She was angry and was constantly looking for information. Someone who constantly looks for answers and analyzes so much, especially in others, is good at reading people.

There was a pang. He couldn't imagine losing his family and it being falsely covered up. God knows what _he’d_ do.

“Really. I'm a okay. Apart from, you know, dying.” There was an awkward silence.

“If you need to talk, my door’s always open.” Her arms tightened around his neck. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a reassuring squeeze or a re gripping as to not to fall. He’d say both, just to feel better. He also avoided a quip back saying that should be his line, but you know, it was nice someone who talked about their emotions less had his back.

The chatting passed time for them. They hid behind a corner as they watched Hunk scurry back into his room holding a small contraption. Looked like a portable star map. Huh.

Lance went to his own room while Pidge went to her own. There was no need for her to change out of bear clothes. They were sweaty, but not destroyed with marking of mortal wounds. Honestly he was glad he left his jacket in his room if he had to be honest. It was a gift, precious to his heart, and if it _ever_ got ruined his heart would die.

He tugged on his baseball shirt. Repairs and removal of blood and it would be good as new. altean clothing repairs were magical. Pun intended because it was straight up magic. Mending showed no signs of hemming, blood came out like it was never there, everything was good as new. He was sure by now his shirt was more altean than wherever it was Made In.

He threw it all of the floor in his ‘repair tonight’ pile. He’d grab the pyjamas Allura lent him . Nice and Silky. The bathrobe was nice too. He had to say Altea s loved the flower aesthetic. He was more of a forest type of guy, you know? Pine smelt clean and nice, fresh rain cleared his mind, the sun on his face felt great and the wind in his hair felt amazing. He pulled on the pants and there was a knock at the door.

“Door’s not locked.” He yelled as he reached for his shirt. The door swooshed open and Pidge marched forward in as a flower disguised as a nightgown. She locked eyes with the mirroring scars on his chest before they were hidden by his blue shirt. “What’s up?” The door made a closing sound behind her.

“I think Allura’s been slowly stealing my pyjama pants and replacing them with nightgowns.” She looked to her left and to her right. The room was identical to hers. Of course they would be. Bed to the corner of the room and a tiny desk to place things atop of, though she noted most of his things had found refuge on the floor. Her headphones she had leant, luckily, we're on the desk.

Lance snorted and she glared.

“Did you just come in here to complain about Allura because I think that’s more up Keith’s alley or?” Pidge rolled her eyes.

“I still have one last thing to ask you,” he raised an eyebrow at her, “from the bet.” She tried to rise his memory.

“Yeah I know. Was the piggyback ride not enough?” Pidge placed a hand on her hip and sighed.

“I'll go ask Shiro if it's too much of an effort.” Her voice fell into a deeper register as she mocked her own words.

“No, no. Sit.” He tapped to the space beside his own on his bed. She shuffled her way over and into the bed. It was a heck lot softer than her own. What even? Maybe they adjusted to the users preferences? Probably. “Tell Lance your woes and sorrows.”

“Ha ha.” Again with the sarcasm. He waved his hand for her to move on with what she wanted to say.”okay…sooooo… I wanted to ask your opinion on something.” She treaded cautiously.

“Uh huh.”

“I was thinking…” he nodded his head, “… of growing my hair out, again.” She looked to her hands.

“Okay. And?”

“And?” She asked incredulously.

“What's your point?” She looked up to him, but there was no maliciousness in his eyes, or irritation. Okay maybe a tiny bit of irritation, but a lot more of wanting comprehension.

“It's sort of a big deal for me. I cut it off after I entered the Garrison.” She nervously fidgeted with her hands as she slowly tilted her head to the side and raised her left shoulder.

“Ohhhh.”

“Yeah.”

“Still up to you, I mean, you've gotta be able to see and fight still. If you need someone to do your hair, you can ask me:”

“Uh, thanks.” She tugged on the fabric of her nightgown. Lance smiled, she liked his smiles. They were reassuring. He was reassuring. She felt herself smile too.

“Now if you don't mind,” he reached down to the pile of clothes by the base of his bed. He picked up his baseball shirt that had clearly seen better days and reached for a small box in a drawer in the desk. It was a sewing needle.

“You sew?” Pidge inquired as she leaned in and inspected what he was doing. He threaded the thread onto the needle. Surprised, Lance turned his head back and gave Pidge a wry smile, pointing a thumb to himself.

“They don't call me the tailor for nothin’.” He grinned. He loved grinning at his shitty puns and shitty jokes. Pidge wouldn't admit it, but she found that endearing about him, as much as fart jokes disgusted her. Though, she still groaned and he smiled even brighter.

She watched as he meticulously repaired his shirt, altean threads making it look as good as new. He lifted it up, the only problem now was the glaring bloodstains. He wrapped it up and placed it on his bed.

“Snagged some vinegar like product from the kitchen, removes blood stains so easily. Truly a blessing.” He seemed like he was saying a thankful prayer to the sky.

“Or you could of asked me to borrow some diluted ammonia.” Pidge piped in. Lance waved her off with a roll of his eyes. He went into the bathroom to heap some toilet paper and dab the vinegar onto his shirt. He let it sit for a few minutes before cleaning it off and washing his shirt in the bathroom. He hung it up to dry when there was a knock at the door.

“Door’s unlocked!” Lance yelled from the bathroom. The door opened with a swoosh.

“Allura wants- oh hey Pidge.” Pidge waved to Hunk from where she sat on Lance’s bed. Lance door to the bathroom closed behind him as he looked to Hunk curiously.

“Hey, something up?”

“Allura wants to see us, not sure what, seemed kind of important. Keith and Shiro are already on their way there. We should probably get going she got pretty mad at you last time.” Hunk winced for Lance at the memory.

“Beauty takes time Hunk.” Lance retorted with an indignant cross of his arms.

“Which we don't have a lot of, now come on Miss Universe, and before Allura gets pissy.” Pidge grabbed Lance’s arm and with a surprised cry, dragged him to the bridge.

“Oh snap.” Hunk trotted along behind them, laughing along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:3c


	7. Alone Together

Shiro really wasn't sure what he was seeing. Two figures, two black glad figures he had trouble seeing, in a battle with Haggar, who had trouble fending them off. She seemed lost as to what was going on. Shiro too was lost as to what was going on.

He had been ejected from Black. Then Haggar found him, slashed his side and then he saw himself staring back at him. He- honestly he really had no idea what the hell was going on.

This moment truly felt like it was the peak of incomprehensible bullshit. One of the two figures was smaller than the other, quicker and had wings. The other was more cat like. With claws and a tail. It took him a few minutes before he realized they were black ghosts. Matt had been the one to tell him about it, while they were trapped in their cell together. Creatures that Ajin can summon. They must of been Lance and Pidge’s. Why was he seeing them now?

There was banging, and the next thing he knew Hunk was blasting down Haggar.

The ghosts were gone by the time he looked back.

He was soon back in Black, saving Keith from Zarkon and making their way to the castleship, speeding away trying to find a wormhole before the barriers closed. It was bumpy, not pretty. So many technical difficulties it was laughable how they even got this far.

They were out though, finally and the wormhole formed. He could get some well earned time in the healing pod and talk things over on how reckless they were and how much more training they needed. Keith was far too reckless. Then he heard it, the alarms, the turbulence and the shaking. He was gone in an instant, Keith only a few inches away from him. Lance and Hunk together and Pidge thrown to the wind. The castleship was abandoned, alone and defenceless.

When it was over, he felt himself being propelled deeper and deeper into cold dark space. His eyes felt heavy and his Lion was down. He was alone, wounded, defenceless and if he had to be truthful, terrified. He didn't want to go out like this. He didn't want to die alone. He still had so many things to say.

He didn't want to be alone. Alone in the dark reaches of space, without any means of communication. He might have been resigned to death long ago, but not this death. This was the death he dreaded the most, the scenario he never wanted to happen.

Shiro felt himself slowly slipping and gasping for air each time he slipped farther and farther away. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He would of prefered going out with a bang, dying like a martyr. All he was now was alone, lost and miserable. He felt himself resign. He was too tired, far too tired to fight anymore. If this was his time, if he was _truly_ dying, than he’d like for them to find his Lion and give him a proper burial. One peaceful final goodbye. Despite how he wanted to scold Keith mere minutes earlier, all he wanted now was for him to be a good leader for Voltron. He’d hope without his guidance and support, Keith could make it.

He truly did think about others until the very end.

* * *

 

When he felt his consciousness stir, he saw mahogany eyes staring into his own dark gray. There were tears, happy voices, but it was all under water for him. He rubbed his head and looked around. It was the bridge of the castleship. He felt his breathing sharpen as he looked around him frantically. It was the castleship. He was alive. _He was alive and well and breathing and he was on the castleship_.

But there was something off.

The place didn’t feel right. It felt… empty. There was a lack and he wasn’t sure what it was trying to fill.

“Shiro, can you move?” He slowly turned his head to notice Allura, but she felt off. She felt… older. Her hairstyle was different, it was parted at the side instead of at the center, and she was no longer wearing her battle uniform, nor her typical dress he had attributed to her. It was starkly different. “Lance, Pidge, stop bumbling about and help me carry him to his room.” He felt two pairs of arms grab him and lift him up. He looked around dazed. This was the castleship, but if everything was moved slightly to the left. He was moved around the castle and back to his room.

“Is everyone else okay?” The wormhole had been corrupted and we were thrown out from what he last remembered. He looked to his left and to his right, the doors to the other rooms felt oddly empty. The door to Shiro’s room swished open and Allura stepped out, rubbing her hands.

“Should be as good as new.” She smiled. “If you need anything, food, water or help, please call upon any of us.” She moved forward and hugged him tightly. “It's so good to have you back.” Her eyes were tender. It's as if she had lost so much, had been betrayed and hurt far more than she needed to be. There was the everything moved slightly to the left again.

She pulled away and let Lance and Pidge lead him into his room and rest on his bed. He finally got a look at his two fellow Paladins. This was far more than slightly to the left. This was a left turn. They looked like just yesterday, but their style was not the same. Pidge’s hair was tied into a small ponytail and she wore a shirt similar to Hunk’s and comfortable Capri sweats. Lance was… questionable, yet fashionable. Bellbottoms, big brown jacket, blue turtleneck and mullet. Oddly 80s. Oddly stunning.

“It's good to have you back.” Pidge laid a hand on his shoulder. There was a ring on her ring finger, he noted. It was subtle, nice and easy to conceal. A dual stone ring, green and blue. She pulled her hand back and retreated from his room. Lance smiled at him before following her lead. Shiro laid back on his bed.

Something was very wrong. It was so very, very wrong.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man do we still have a LOT to go. So much. Anyway now it's Shiro POV whoop whoop. Yeah this fic was originally created for time traveler Shiro so pov switches between the 3 characters. 
> 
> Soon it'll balance itself out. But Ye he thx for reading!!


	8. Time Travelling Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm dying at the amount of typos i let slide. i went back and corrected those i noticed. g o d. also regular posting schedule?? what regular posting schedule??? (posting early bc won't be able to post on friday) also brb dying bc im second guessing my characterizations of the characters ANYWAY

“ _How is he even here? Scratch that. **How is he even alive?**_ ” Pidge hissed. She slammed her hands down on the comms console. Lance raised a hand and rested it on her shoulder. She breathed in, breathed out and looked back to Allura who had the stone face of a diplomat.

“I don't know. We’d have to ask him for more information. For now he needs to rest.” Her hand was pressed against her chin, in thought. She looked up, her eyes making contact with Lance’s. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She had been like that for the past few days. It was rough on all of them. Shiro’s return was the cherry on top. “Lance, you're good with people?” He pointed to himself, but who else was named Lance on this ship?

“Uh, yeah kinda? I mean I am a doctor but Allura-”

“Then it's decided. Lance, you’ll tend to Shiro, make sure he’s well. Talk to him about what happened, maybe we can find important information.” Before he could reply, Allura turned her attention over to Pidge.

“I have a meeting with the Blade of Marmora in a few quintants. I'd like you to accompany me.” Pidge seemed to be in distress. She wasn't a diplomatic figure. That was Lance and Coran. Coran who… was no longer among them… who passed away only a mere few days before. She felt a pang on her heart. It almost hurt as much as seeing her family die did. “You’ll do fine. No need to talk. All I ask is to dress in paladin attire.” Pidge sighed. That she could do.

Allura raised from her seat, her red gown swaying as she exited the bridge. Lance and Pidge looked to one another and sighed. She probably went to mourn at Coran’s memorial. It was small and made in a rush. All it was was a picture of him with some flowers and objects he cherished. It was a picture of him in his better days. Coran did not peculiarly age well. Once they had the time, they would give him a proper send off, but for now they were stuck in the middle of the void.

“What do you think… you know… happened to Shiro?” Lance asked suddenly. Pidge looked up and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know the full details, but the last I remember seeing of him was when we got flung out of the wormhole.” She furrowed her eyebrows. There was an idea on the front of her mind, but she couldn’t make it out. She growled frustratedly.

“Hey Pidge, it’s okay. We can figure it out once he’s calmed down from the stress.” He walked over to her and put his arms around her shoulders. She hummed in relief, finding herself relaxing into him. He kissed the top of her head and she smiled. She untangled herself from his noodle arms and grinned.

“I’m gonna go feed Octo, Archimedes, Bowie and the gang to relax, wanna come?”

“And let you spoil our kids? Not happening.” Pidge laughed as Lance followed her lead.

* * *

  
Allura exhaled. Fatigue was nagging on her shoulders. She truly felt alone now. She was the last of her kind. Coran looked so peaceful. Pidge and Lance said they would give him a burial. She was confused the first time they did it, with Keith. She bit her lips at the thought of her teammate, the one whose shoes she was filling. She had said some things, some rather nasty things to him. To this day, despite what Lance told her, she still believed it was her fault he died.

When she found out he had been Galra, she ostracized him. She had been so wrapped up she forgot of the precious friend she was leaving behind, who she had been forgetting. While the others didn't blame her for her reaction, even Keith, she still felt horrible. Seeing him die was not an experience she was going to forget. It was still ingrained in her mind. He sounded certain. No. He was resigned.

He died looking for Shiro. He died searching and protecting. They buried Keith next to his father back on Earth. This wasn't the way they would have wanted to make contact with her Paladins home planet, but they wanted to put him to rest where he felt at home. It was Allura’s first burial. It was an honourable ceremony. She wanted to give the same respects to Coran. She wasn't sure where she would bury him. Altea was destroyed. Maybe with the Olkari? He was rather fond of them and their planet, and it was one of the very few unchanged places. Allura nodded her head. It was decided. She wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. She needed to be strong now. The Blade of Marmora took not kindly to tears.

“If you can hear me… Coran… I just want you to know…” She didn’t finish the sentence. Her words floated to the wind, she didn’t need to say anything. She had said everything she could have ever wished to say to him.

She raised from her kneeling position and patted down her dress. A princess needed to be presentable. Turning around she noticed a figure and took a step back. The figure approached, wry smile on his face, hands in the air.

“I thought you were with Pidge?” She folded her arms, her posture shifting to the left.

“Well I was. She wanted me to check up on you. It's been a few vargas you've been missing.” Lance shrugged as he awaited for the princess to walk by his side. She sighed, looking back to Coran’s memorial and brushing hair out of her face.

“Has it really been that long?”

“So long Pidge decided to go tinker with the Black Lion.”

“ _She what_.” Lance flinched, but shrugged.

“Relax, she’s only pulling data-logs, time stamps and locations to see where he’s been. Black could've been on cryo this entire time and Shiro’d remember nothing.” They resumed their walk. Allura nodded her head.

“And Shiro?” Lance bit his lower lip.

“Has woken up since last time.” Allura nodded once more.

“If he hasn't recovered, we’ll attempt to put him back into the cryopods.” Seemed for the best. They wandered the halls in silence. Allura found herself twirling her thumbs. Silence was not her best friend. She gritted her teeth, finally giving in.

“And how are the octogos?” Lance looked back to her and his eyes lit up. She hadn't seen his eyes light up in so long. Ever since Keith died, it had gone down hill. The light in all of their eyes had been taken. Soon they conceded to Shiro’s supposed death and the loss of the Black Lion… though had it not been for that, they weren't sure how they would have made such stride towards beating Zarkon. His motivation was the Black Lion. With it out of the picture, he was a lost lamb.

“Archimedes is getting along pretty good with Octo and Bowie! Beyoncé’s also warming up to the others. They’ve been so good. It kind of seems like we keep on getting more, not like I'm complaining though. They sure live a long time…” his voice wandered and his eyes glazed over. Allura bit her tongue. Marvellous topic Princess of Altea, Red Paladin of Voltron. Remind your close friend of his never ending mortality. Lance turned his head and waved his hands.

“Hey don't worry about it. It's no big deal, I brought it up myself. Seriously, me and Pidge, we’re fine.” He smiled, but it was nothing compared to the one moments ago. She nodded her head in acquisition. There was not much else she could do.

They made their way over to the open room they had converted into a greenhouse, where they kept the pets. Pidge had begun inspecting plants though she was still being trailed by the octogos. They especially adored Pidge and Lance. Octogos were precious creatures, it was amazing they had so many.

“Oh hey! Just picking up some extra food for tonight. Hoping Shiro will be up so we can treat him to some not foodgoo. Who knows what he's been eating…” she trailed off, picking up some fresh carrots. They grew some Earth vegetables and fruits in their greenhouse, and followers for Allura. They stocked freezer ready food in the freezer and stocked up when they needed to.

“Don't keep your hopes up Hun.” Pidge looked back to him and shook head head. He walked over to her and joined her in selecting food. They began to joke and bicker to one another as the octogos flew around them curiously and happily. They loved the attention.

Allura watched her two Paladins. They seemed so happy now. She looked to the rings in their fingers. Marriage, a ceremonial contract that varies across cultures. She had been there for theirs. Apparently it was a civil union, they did not want to do two big ceremonies for two different religions. It was a crowded ceremony. Lance’s family had been so big. She met so many people, but their faces were vague. It had been so long. She learned he had a younger sister. She was kind. He was a very family oriented person. When he realized he couldn't have children, he felt himself devastated, adoption wasn't an option either, even alien. Who would want to outlive their own child? They did not want to take that risk. They turned to pets. The pain of loss hurt far less, but it was still painful.

Pidge coped well. She bounced back quite quickly and had been a guiding hand for Lance to bounce back as well. When her own family died, she wasn't faring so well, but she moved on. She had potentially seemed resigned to this fate long ago. She occupied herself with hobbies and pets, it calmed and distracted her. She was used to the loss of an animal, it hurt, but it only hurt for so long. Unlike Lance, she wasn't very family oriented and children weren't really on her mind, nor were they ever after realizing she was an Ajin. She had been the one to break the idea to Lance maybe it wasn't possible. That had been a horrid week. At least Hunk had been still around at the time. He was so kind, so caring. He truly loved his friends.

She remembered Hunk’s face at least. He had lived far longer than a normal human lifespan. 363 years to be precise. It was a work of the cryopods, according to Coran. With his DNA modified, his appearance took a more Altean twist, but it wasn't fairly obvious. Hunk did not mind. He could be with his friends longer, he could see Shay, his first alien friend, and very close friend, more often. He never saw it as a drawback. He saw it as if he was given more time. He accomplished many great things, a brilliant innovator, along with Pidge. There lays a memorial on the Balmera, Shay’s, to remember him. It's small, but it holds the sentiment Shay believed he deserved their first Ambassador, and her longtime friend who had saved their lives.

In the Castleship, he too had a statue next to Keith. It was a starch contrast to Keith’s young appearance, and Hunk of that in his prime. It really hit home human lives could end at the flick of a wrist, if they were only human.

With the flowers the picked, they decorated their friends’ memorials, never to be forgotten. History could forget them, but they wouldn't. Allura, Lance and Pidge would remember them.

“So I was looking through the Black Lion’s data-logs-” Pidge began from where she kneeled in front of Hunk’s statue.

“I already told her about it.” Lance chimed in, his hands behind the back of his head. They began to walk their way back to their tech room, an empty room they had redesigned centuries prior to tech analysis and development.

“Okay that makes my life ten times easier,” she muttered to herself, “it seems like Black came online a few days ago. No traces of other sleep mode data or usage of cryo. It’s as if he was back in 2025.” She looked up, her eyes wide. A light bulb had gone off for her. Allura looked to Lance for understanding, but he shrugged. He could barely follow his wife’s thought process half the time. “What if… he came from 2025.”

“I doubt that to be possible.” Allura replied quickly, but Lance waved his hand toward her. His head was gearing now too.

“He disappeared when we went to go rescue you. Do you remember that day right?”

“Vaguely.” She began to think.

“Pidge?” Lance’s shining hope.

“The wormhole was purple from what I remember.” She shrugged. “Wormholes theoretically can travel through time.” She offered up as explanation.

“Mine only travel through space, not time.” Retorted Allura.

“Yeah, but your wormholes are blue, not purple.” Countered Pidge. Before they could get into an argument, Lance had a breakthrough.

“Guys guys. Didn't Haggar corrupt the wormhole?” They looked to Lance as if he had a stroke of genius.

“Her magic could have interfered with time… I do remember Coran deaging every time we hit the wall…” she shook her head lightly. “Yes. That might have been the case.”

“So basically Haggar and her creepy magic corrupts the wormhole and sends Shiro into the future?” Pidge asks incredulously. “Great.” They had finally arrived back in their tech room. She sat down in front of her station.

“We don't know if it was the wormhole for sure, we need to verify our facts with Shiro.” Allura pondered over it for a few seconds. “Lance, how long until Shiro is well?”

“Like I keep saying, until he’s rested and calms down his stress levels. God knows if he is from the past he's not gonna have a fun time finding out about the future.” Lance whistled for exaggerative purposes.

“Oh.” Allura lowered her head and balled her hand underneath her chin. Yes that might be a problem.

“I should probably go check up on him. Make sure he’s still kicking.” Lance sounded more awkward than he had wanted. He walked over to Pidge and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She grabbed his turtleneck to kiss him on the lips instead.

“If you're going to kiss me, at least kiss me _properly_.” She sounded smug. God they rubbed off on each other.

“I'll stay with Pidge.” Allura walked up to her Green Paladin and sat beside her, looking to her tech curiously.

“And I'll be here. Waiting, going through data like I have been for the past 12 hours.” Lance rolled his eyes and turned around slightly after he had already began walking away.

“I'll come back and bring us some food, but I get to snuggle with you and you _can't_ complain if I drape myself on top of you.” Pidge groaned.

“Fine.” She drawled out. Lance hushed a yes under his breath as he scurried off. Allura laughed. Lance and Pidge truly were an old married couple, so they say on Earth.

* * *

 

After Lance’s departure, Pidge engulfed herself in the data-logs once more. Something had been bothering her for the longest time since they had started the conversation, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. It was on the tip of her tongue and the feeling of knowing what it is yet simultaneously not knowing what it was pissed her off.

It hit her like a lightbulb and she shot up from where she sat on the floor. Startled, Allura eyed her green paladin curiously, and watched as she rushed her way over to the data-archives and pulled out century old files.

She juxtaposed two files. Allura couldn’t exactly make out what they were, but in an instant they were right in front of her nose.

“What do you see when you look at this?” Pidge asked from where she fiddled with information. Allura peered to the side to look at the brunette, then back to the information in front of her.

She recognized this from centuries ago. It was coming back to her now.

“Are these the Red Lion data-logs?” Allura looked to the time stamp written as clear as day. The year 2025 being the last known usage, with the previous usage being 3 months later in the year 2026. This had been when Keith had gone off the radar, and his signature had appeared 3 months after his disappearance. They assumed it was just the Red Lion saving it’s recuperating its energy after the battle and Keith’s location. He had been on an abandoned planet after all.

“Yeah I just remembered about them. Now take a look at Black’s.” Pidge swiped over the Black Lion’s data-logs. The previous activation had the same date. 2025. It’s current activation period was 12026. “You said it was possible Shiro travelled through time because of Coran’s de-aging?”

Allura nodded her head. “I do recall saying that.” She looked to the data-logs once more. “Definitely not coincidental.” She shook her head, then, with a glimmer in her eyes she turned her head to Pidge. “Are you saying-”

“Yup. They time travelled. With enough alteration, your portals can time travel. _He time traveled_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's allura's design for those of u who want to see it!!!  
>  it's been on my tumblr for like the past month lol.


	9. Salty together, Salty Forever

Shiro had felt himself restless. As much as they fussed about him needing rest and staying in his room, he wandered the halls when the others weren't there. Earlier Lance had visited. He had been a bit awake, answered a few of Lance’s basic questions, had his vitals checked and was told to get some well needed rest. Honestly it felt like a doctor checking up on him. He didn't like how wrong and weird everything felt since he had come back.

Some things really changed. How long had he been out? Once he knew Lance was gone, Shiro was out wandering the halls.

From day one he knew something was off. He only ever heard three voices. Allura, Lance and Pidge. He didn't like it. The halls of the castle felt empty. There were chills in his bones telling him something wasn't right.

He was wandering again, he could hear Lance and Pidge speaking in the distance. He couldn't make out what they were saying, they were speaking in a language that was not English. Or well, not completely. But even what he could understand, he could not understand it contextually.

He decided to move past them and explore halls he had never wandered before. The lights were blue, they were always blue. The air was thick with something he couldn't understand. It smelt of age. It smelt of mansions too big for their residence to take care. It didn't settle well with him.

The lights flickered on one by one. It was almost tragic? He continued on precautionarily, he wanted to see the end. He wanted to know where these halls led. Sometimes this castle felt like a never ending labyrinth. Now only if there was sparkles and David Bowie.

He began to notice a faint light at the end, finally, when he approached, it was an open space. No, it wasn't an open space, it was more of an alcove with… two statues. He slowly walked forward, drawn to the younger of the two figures, tears welling up in his eyes. It couldn't be what he thought it was. But it was. It very much was. His greatest fear had happened, _Keith dying a martyr_. Not him;  _Keith_. **_Keith who had so much before him_**. He heard a voice chime in the back of his head that _he too had so much before him_. He bit his bottom lip.

Shiro placed his hand atop of the base of the statue, kneeling down to read the inscription.

**_Keith Kogane, Red Paladin of Voltron, member of The Blade of Marmora_ **  
_2005-2027. Age 22._  
_A great man, loyal and devoted to the ones’ he loved, he’d search across the universe until his demise. A will as strong as fire and skills of gold. May he rest well. Find the one among the stars your heart belongs to._

Shiro wasn't sure when he fell to the floor, but he was sure as hell crying. He couldn't stop crying. If he hadn't let Allura stay behind, maybe things wouldn't be like this? Had they listened to Keith maybe things wouldn't be like this? Maybe Keith would be alive right now? He needed to get in control, but everything wasn't in his control and he did not like this.

At least something had been confirmed for him, he had been sent into the future. Past 2027. Still, it wasn't a reassurance, not in the big picture.

“God… Keith… I'm so sorry…” he tried his best to heave out the words that felt like acid on his tongue. He heaved and tears continued to flow. He sipped his face, trying to dry them away, but they weren't. They wouldn't stop. Or they felt like they hadn't. His face was flushed red from all of the rubbing.

He didn't hear the hushed whisper, the voice calling out to him, but he did almost decked the person who had approached him. He calmed down his accelerated breathing when he saw the soft white hair of the princess.

“Pardon my intrusion and for not warning you.” Her voice held remorse as she carefully drew back her hand. “I should have introduced my presence.” Shiro looked to her, wiping his face one last time for good measure, trying to erase all traces of this moment to alleviate Allura’s concern and raising from the floor.

“It's… thank you.” Allura smiled and outstretched her hand for him. He gingerly reached out to accept it, and allowed Allura to walk him back. Well it seemed like his alleviate plan didn't peculiarly work.

There was silence between them. She seemed like she didn't want to poke the bubble that had formed and feared what would come from it. He couldn't peculiarly blame her. He didn't want to know what was on the other side of that bubble either. It was a can of worms he was sure he wasn't ready to swallow. But who would ever want to swallow a can of worms to begin with?

“I'm sorry we did not tell you sooner.” She decided to pop it. “Lance said it was for the best to let you rest before we informed you of what has happened since your return.” Her voice was low. Lance had decided that? Allura must of noticed his face. “Yes,” she smiled, “he is our resident medical officer.”

“Allura… how long has it been?” He tugged on her hand. She stopped in her tracks and turned back to him with an eyebrow raised. “Allura… how long have I been gone for? Three years?” She turned away and bit her lip. Shiro’s last dust of hope he didn't know he even had vanished to the wind. Fear grabbed at him and his voice was a bit harsher and desperate than he would have wanted. His emotions weren't still under his control just yet.

“Allura, how long.” She flinched. She wasn't answering. Without much of a word, she engulfed him in a hug, something faintly soggy on his shirt, and a faint whisper of an answer in his ear.

“I'm so sorry.”

“ _How long_.” So stiff. He didn't like where this was going. He could feel the tears seeping in now. Shiro felt his throat dry. Had it been 40 years? That didn't make sense though, Lance and Pidge looked the same physically—unless... He didn't want to think about that right now. And Hunk, where was he?

“Ten thousand.” He felt his eyes widen from the voice behind him.

“ _Pidge!_ ” He heard Lance hissed.

“He's gonna know anyway, better it be now than when we lose his trust.” Shiro hated to admit, but had they drawn it out, he would've become distrustful of them. Still, the feeling of nausea that hit him didn't make him feel much better. Lance grumbled under his breath.

Allura pulled away from the hug, her face soaked from crying, her eyes pudgier and redder than before. She tried cleaning with the back of her hands, but there wasn't enough dry fabric to absorb the waterworks.

“I’m very sorry for sullying your attire.” She sniffled and rubbed her tires.

“It's been through worse.” He tried to lighten the mood with a joke. It worked, because Allura chuckled and sighed in contempt.

“If you're feeling up to it, we can have supper, and if you're really feeling up to it, fill you in on those ten thousand years you missed.” Lance offered up sympathetically.

“I’d… I'd like that.” Lance nodded and Pidge grinned.

“Come on Space Cowboy, no foodgoo for you.” She grinned as she tugged him along, Allura following along behind them, a smile on her face.

The castle had been so quiet as of late, and the return of the Black Paladin was the greatest gift god could offer them, if god even existed.

He sat across from his friends, Allura to his left. It was oddly quiet. The only sound was the clanking of the silverware on the plates.

He noted the silly jabs from across the table and the attempts to steal each other's food. There was also the rings on their fingers. The left hand, the ring finger. Two and two clicked. He felt his jaw slack. Pidge and Lance?

“Are you two…?” Shiro’s voice echoed across the empty room, reinforcing the solitude.

“Married? Yep!” Lance grinned as he flaunted off his ring. Pidge sunk lower into her chair, her face flushed. “When we got back to Earth for…” he looked down, “Keith’s funeral…” He gulped and smiled, trying to pick up the happy demeanour, but it was obviously forced. “We met all of Pidge’s family, after getting the Holts reunited and laughing in Iverson’s face.”

“I got to laugh in his face and stomp on his foot on live television. He couldn't do anything. Good times.” Pidge reminisced.

“Pidge.” Shiro scolded

“Nah scumbag deserved it. His face when we arrived in the Castleship was priceless.” Lance wiped away a single tear at the memory. The couple high-fived each other. That explains a lot. Yup he could see why they feel in love. Salty together, salty forever. From the corner of his eye, he saw Allura smile and roll her eyes. She must of remembered it too.

“Is it alright to ask-”

“How Keith died?” Offered up Allura. The table was silent.

“Are you sure- if you don't want to know-” Lance started out, but Shiro raised a hand. He was fine. He could take it. Lance begrudgingly resigned.

Allura cleared her throat.

“After you vanished, Keith became desperate. Desperate to find you. He tried to be a leader as you had wanted. He was good, but he wasn't in any emotional state to lead with a level head. He died protecting us, trying to buy us time, and it worked, though had he known it was in vain, the course of history would be far different than it is now.” She looked to the side, thinking of possibilities that couldn't be,

“What about Hunk and Coran?”

“Hunk died of old age. He did a lot of good for 363 years of his life.” Lance grinned with sentimentality.

“Wait. _363 years?_ ” Shiro asked incredulously.

“The healing pods had a rather unique effect on your human morphology.” Allura piped in.

“Coran passed away 3 days ago. Just us now.” Pidge gestured her hand to the vast emptiness of the room. “Oh and our kids.” She added as an afterthought.

“She means our pets.” Lance clarified.

“I guess I really did miss a lot.” Shiro rubbed the back of his head.

“Far more than you would believe.” Allura teased.

Supper had been entertaining. He decided to turn down Lance’s offer. He still had a lot to absorb. Lance wandered off with Allura, talking about things he’d probably need to know about if he was to reintegrate into the team.

Pidge had wandered off in the middle of it. He hadn't talked to her much. Maybe it was time to remedy that. Though he’d have to find her. Which wasn’t actually hard as it seemed. Even after ten thousand years her locationary habits didn’t change a single bit. He smiled fondly as he peeked through the doorframe.

Hunched over electronic greenlight, Pidge found herself engulfed in data, figuratively and literally. He couldn’t make out the language, but it seemed to be altean. He made his way over, but Pidge seemed to have not noticed his intrusion. He sat himself at an arm’s length away from her and peered over at the tech curiously. This was far more advanced than when he had last been on the ship, which admittedly was ten thousand years ago. That was hard to wrap his head around.

He peered at the tech curiously, trying to see if he could grasp some sort of understanding from what she was doing. It was pretty advanced, he had to say, and he was impressed. He was always impressed with her, even since she had first met them, ever since he had met her.

Pidge had always been kind and full of smiles around him, even if she shouldn't have been. After all, she should of been the one with him. He symbolized what took her family. He clenched his hands and unclenched. It wasn't my fault, he repeated to himself.

Bright mahogany eyes looked into his own gray, and within the next instant there was screaming.

“Oh my god! Shiro! Don't fucking scare me like that geez. You could've killed me or something.” Shiro caught his breath and gave her a look.

“Pidge, I highly doubt you’d die.” Pidge raised an eyebrow.

“You know I _did_ wonder why you weren't freaking out about why me and Lance were still alive after we told you it had been ten thousand years.” Pidge pondered to herself.

“Your brother told me.” He looked down. Pidge bit her lips and looked down to her computer screen. Way to create awkward tension Shiro, bravo. “I also extrapolated a bit.” He muttered offhandedly but Pidge still caught it. Shiro knew Ajin couldn't die. He knew Pidge and Lance were Ajin. Putting two and two together became easy. Ajin also couldn't die of old age. Their cells must of regenerated and stayed at a certain age. Maybe at the age of death? Both Pidge and Lance looked so young, and the idea was quite a morbid one.

“My brother did talk a lot…” She sighed as she pulled off her glasses and dried away the stray tears welling up in her eyes. “Even after so long it still really fucking hurts.” She sniffled.

“Loss always scars the heart. The closer they are, the deeper the cut.” Wise words from Sage Shiro. Pidge breathed in, calming her raging heart, calming the resurging memories. With Shiro’s return came the packed up baggage from centuries ago.

“Matt and Dad were upset when we told them about you… They were hoping you’d be like Keith, turn up a few months later.” Shiro raised an eyebrow at the new information, but Pidge continued on, “But you didn't, and they died hoping, praying and searching. They told me to keep looking, to keep looking even if my heart told me you were dead. I… god I never understood why they still had hope for you. I mean I do, you’re a great person, but all signs pointed far far away from alive and a lot of us had already resigned to your death.” She paused and took a breath. “I guess you just love proving the world wrong?” She gave Shiro a wry smile and nudged his ribs.

“I guess so.” Shiro replied. He peered over to what Pidge had been doing previously. Pidge followed his line of sight and understood his inquiries. Right new tech.

“So what were you working on?”

“Just finalizing data for the archives. Might be of interest to you.” She flashed up the two data-logs. He looked at them with a look that could easily pass as understanding to the average eye, but someone who had know Shiro long enough like she did, it meant he understood shit fuck all. She took pity on him. “These are data-logs, or more specifically the Red Lion’s and the Black Lion’s. It shows that the wormhole not only distorted our desired location, but the timeframe as well.” She swifter off the data-logs and smiled.

“I time travelled.”

“You time travelled.” Her grin was wide. “And Keith did too; saw your look earlier. Just three months though, but it did help us in confirming what happened to you was in fact time travel. Anyway now that I'm done with that, wanna go meet my kids?” She put away some of the stray equipment to avoid being destroyed but a passing person in their path.

“If it's not too much of a bother.” He conceded to her. She grabbed onto his arm and dragged him to what she explained they called the greenhouse. The greenhouse was where they planted food they frequently ate, planted flowers to relax and their pets stayed to play.

When Shiro set foot into the greenhouse, he had thought he had returned home to Earth. The air was clean and fresh, the surroundings were lush and colourful. He could hear running water and he felt his nerves melting away. It was warm in here. He could see himself spending time in here to relax. Pidge let go of his hand and ran around happily, breathing in and out the fresh air with joy.

“Archimedes, Octo, Bowie, Beyonce, Einstein! We’ve got a visitor for you!” Shiro looked around, wondering what Pidge was yelling at, and not a moment sooner he was surrounded by 5 little floating octopuses of varying colour. They rubbed against Pidge’s cheek with joy and regarded Shiro with caution. “He's okay guys, no need to be afraid.” The Octogos relaxed and began to float slower, some even playing with him. They were so soft, and kind of slimey. He felt a small laugh build up as he was showered in unconditional love and affection.

“So how have you been holding up?” Pidge sat herself on the fence of one of their many containers. Shiro turned his head to face his friend. He got a good look at her now. While she still looked like the first day he met her, she seemed older. Far older than he felt comfortable admitting. There were bags under her eyes, but she seemed content. She seemed content with what she had done, with everything that had happened, and that despite all the shit she probably went through, she was still kicking, breathing and flipping people off in the process. Shiro only wished he had been there to see that growth, but there was no time for lamenting. He could get to know her now and make up for the lost time.

“Good.” There was really no other way to say it, if he had to be honest. Pidge was not satisfied.

“Good as in, ‘I’ve been through worse and this is manageable’ or good as in ‘oh god everything is burning down around me and I’m just swimming through it all’.”

“The first one.” She was still not convinced. “... okay, a bit of both.” She nodded her head. “I’ve been faring well. Just need time to adjust to everything.” The octogos nuzzled into him and he felt a pang of joy run through him. “Where did you even find these little guys?” He petted one and it pushed into the touch. Very friendly creatures, kind of like dogs.

Pidge waved her hand. “Oh you know, roaming around in outer space. According to Coran, they live long lifespans. Long lifespans for people who apparently can’t die.” She sounded more bitter than she intended to be. She looked to Shiro then turned away. “Sorry, just. Get bitter about it sometimes.” She shook her head, a smile was on her face in a flash. “Anyway the one who seems to have taken a liking to you is named Bowie! Yes as in David Bowie. All pop culture icons are Lance’s doing.” Shiro patted Bowie’s head and the little critter basked in the attention it was receiving. Gosh his heart was melting.

“I’m guessing Archimedes and Einstein were your doing?” Pidge nodded her head vigorously. “And Octo?”

“Our first child. You know when you have a cat and you don’t give it a name and you just call it kitty and it becomes its name? _Yeah_.” Her lips formed a flat line as she looked away in embarrassment. There was a story behind this and he wasn’t sure if he wanted or didn’t want to know.

“This is…” He looked around the room, taking it all in. “Nice.” Pidge smirked.

“Well the Greenhouse is always unlocked and the octogos are always looking for someone to keep them company.” She gestured to the tiny multi-coloured octopus like creatures.

“I'll keep that in mind.” Shiro sat himself down on the floor and allowed the little critters to fly around him happily and play with him.

“Welcome home, Shiro.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, i might be taking a small break? i just need to get my mental health in check atm im just... not doing so great atm. Also Lance can be a doctor I do what i want fight me


	10. Hype Man

“We should consider returning to the Balmera after the meeting with the Blade of Marmora.” Allura walked around the star map, her hands behind her back. It was just her and Lance. Her right-hand was leaning against the wall, following her movement.

“I'm guessing not just for the crystal?” Allura turned to face Lance, her face determined. She was set on something.

“No. I need to speak with Shay.”

“She’s gonna turn you down again.” It was as if they went through this cat and mouse routine every other week. Allura would say the same thing and Lance would reply with what he knew happened time and time again. Shay needed to lead her people. She was not ready to be Yellow Lion Paladin.

“No she won't.” Allura sounded certain, like she had an edge this time around. Something she never had before.

“Okay.” Skepticism laced Lance’s voice. “Elaborate.” He gestured to the floor and if was all hers.

Allura walked up to face Lance. She straightened her back, and held her head high. Ah yes classic Allura diplomacy tactics. Set your strength and show you have no fear.

“I've heard information that Shay has passed down her role of leadership to a younger generation who have more energy and newer ideas.”

“Oh really?” Allura smiled smugly.

“We also have the return of our Black Paladin.” Right. Shay’s main issue with being a Paladin was that there was no point for her to be the Yellow Paladin if they could not form Voltron. She had things she needed to take care of and the current Voltron was holding up well. With the Blade of Marmora they had pushed back Galra forces. Shay wanted horribly to join Voltron, but being in a role of leadership had changed her. Her free spirit they loved so had decided to take on responsibility. The responsibility of her people. She would not abandon them. She would not abandon Hunk.

It was in her eyes. Her heart still hurt with the loss of her closest and dearest friend. She felt wrong to take up his lion. She needed time. She needed time to be ready.

The war had taken so long and so many lives. With the return of the Black Paladin, they could convince their Yellow Paladin to join Voltron and finally defeat the renegade Galra. Haggar would be stopped once and for all.

Lance whistled enthusiastically. “This might actually work.” He grinned.

“There is my, what do you call it, hype man?” Lance laughed.

“Yup, that’s me. The hype man.”

They laughed together. It was a tired laugh, trying to find the very little things to laugh about. It had always been like this, really, or well it became like this a long time ago.

When they had lost their previous leader, Keith, who bless his soul had his shit together better than anyone else on the team yet was also the most emotionally compromised, Allura stepped up. She would be hurt no more. It was then that Lance sort of just became her second. The flirting he used to try just became playful banter. It was how they tried to maintain a norm. Along with Hunk and Pidge, the three formed her council on decisions. They all had a say.

It worked well.

They had gotten much done until Hunk’s death. Still now, they achieved much, and yet victory was so far from reach.

“Lance…?” Allura asked all of a sudden.

“Um hm?” He hummed.

“I have a favour to ask of you.”

“Alright?” He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“I would like you and Shiro to attend the meeting with me.” Lance looked to her incredulously. He blinked. He blinked again. He finally blinked once more for good measure.

“ _What?_ ”

“I would like you and Shiro to attend the Blade of Marmora meeting with me.” She reaffirmed herself.

“Um, _why?_ ” By all means, what the fuck Allura.

“We need to show Voltron has returned, that soon we will be able to end this war once and for all. The Blade will want to know of Shiro’s return immediately instead of finding out we withheld crucial information from them.” Her determination and confidence on this was shinning through. She knew what she was doing, she had her plan before her and the bigger picture.

“Alright, fine. But he doesn't speak. He sits, stays quiet and no one asks him questions. Until we can catch him up to speed on the war, he’s a wallflower.” Lance stared down Allura. Those were his terms.

“Alright.” Allura sighed. “I thought I'd never see the day you would order Shiro around.” She smirked.

Lance shivered. “God I know right? It feels so weird.”

“I will inform Pidge you will be resuming your post at the meeting, but I believe I will still need her help. People might wonder how Shiro has returned.”

“Yup. She’s the best person for the job to explain it.” Lance boosted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm i cut if off at the end bc it was about to get info dumpy and i want to give myself enough room to write farther ahead and not have like, problems with doing stuff. it's a lot longer to write than it is to post so yeah. Note: i edited the fic and changed things, One being lance's name. I no longer use charles mcclain for lance's full name for various reasons and decided to go with names i had used previously in other fics, so if you go back and reread, there will be that difference. Also typos were fixed.


	11. Status Symbol

A few days had passed and Shiro found himself in the docking bay of the lions. He placed his hand atop of the cool metallic surface of his Lion. He felt her hum awake in response. Ever since he ended up here, in the future, well present now, he felt more connected to his Lion. Black hummed in agreement.

She opened up for him, and he slowly made his way to the cockpit. Everything felt new, like whatever had been in the past settled, and the shackles that bonded him existed no more.

He sat himself down in the chair and relaxed into the seat. He needed familiarity to relax. His Lion was the only true familiar thing left for him, but even now it felt changed. He closed his eyes, and only saw the hangar bay and his Lion purring to him in what felt like a praise?

“Hey Shiro!” He looked down and saw Lance waving to him from where he was on the ground. “Oh neat are you seeing through your Lion?” Oh. He was. He disconnected from his Lion’s sight, smiled reassuringly when he heard her whine and made his way down to Lance who had a chipper grin on his face. “Only a few days back and you’re already back in the saddle.” He bumped Shiro’s shoulder lightly. Older Lance was going to need some getting used to. It was just like the Lance he had been familiar with, but with a medical license and the unlikely parent. Getting scolded by him was an experience he wasn't going to forget.

“Is there anything you wanted to talk about?” Shiro was to the point as ever.

“Well you see… Allura wants you to attend this meeting in like, tomorrow.” Lance treaded careful water. “And all you need to do is nothing!”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing!”

“Than why am I attending?” Really if he was going to attend something he needed to have some purpose for being there. While it would sure be interesting to see how these meetings happen, he was positive he wouldn’t understand much of it.

“Proof that you're back, that Voltron has returned.” Lance said offhandedly, “Convince Shay to become the Yellow Paladin. You know, small things.” Ah yes, _small things_.

“So I am doing something.” Shiro gave a wry smile as he crossed his arms. Lance raised a finger to counter, furrowed his eyebrows, grimaced and lowered his hand.

“Okay so you're there as a status symbol.” Lance muttered. “Moving on. You'll need to be caught up before being able to participate in any meetings. We're going to need to catch you up on ten thousand years of history before anything. And at your own pace. So.” Lance sat himself down on the floor cross-legged and patted the ground with a smile. “Where do you want to start?”

Shiro slowly sat himself down. He had a lot of questions.

“Who are the current Paladins?” When Lance brought up Shay being the new yellow Paladin—Shay still being alive is good news to him, one more familiar face—and now he wondered, who replaced Keith?

“Allura took up Keith’s place as leader after… the incident. She’s the current Red Lion Paladin. Shay is our Yellow, but she’s been avoiding joining for the past seven thousand years. Pidge and I our still Green and Blue. And Black obviously still likes you.” Shiro heard Black purr in affirmation.

“What happened after I disappeared?” Lance made a face that did not settle well with Shiro.

“Oh man _what didn't happen_.” He grimaced. He took an instant to think this through. “So you want me to go through this?” Lance turned his head to Shiro. Shiro nodded in affirmation. He needed to know. “Here’s a super condescend version. We can go more into detail another time. Anyway crash course history 101: How we've still been at War for Ten Thousand Years.”

“After you vanished,” Lance started,”Keith took up the role of leader. He was good, I have to admit. He had his shit together, but emotionally was a different story. He died and shortly after we heard news of Zarkon’s death which had happened long ago apparently. We didn't know why at first, but we think that after you disappeared, Zarkon no longer had motivation. Black was gone, and so was his drive. Haggar picked up where he left off. We've been good at holding her off. Zarkon’s son, Lotor, defected to the Blade of Marmora and has been helping us in defeating the empire. The Blade of Marmora is a rebel Galra faction that has infiltrated Zarkon, now Haggar’s ranks in an effort to end the war. Also Keith was half-Galra, which is how we even got in touch with them in the first place.” He paused to let Shiro absorb the information and ask questions.

The Blade of Marmora. He had heard that somewhere before. He decided to mull that one over for a bit. Though his eyebrow did raise slightly. He wasn’t sure if Lance noticed or not.

“He was half-Galra?” Lance nodded his head.

“Helped in a lot. Galra empire system only opens thanks to Galra. Bad design flaw to not expect any of their own to defect.” That was a weird discovery. It didn't change anything for him but still, it would take some getting used to.

“Is there anything else I should know?” Shiro looked up to Lance as he raised himself off the ground.

“Nothing that _really_ comes to mind, but like bare with me I’m like ten thousand and twenty two years old, so some things can and have sort of escaped me.” He put out his hand to help Shiro up. Shiro took Lance’s arm graciously and with one firm tug Shiro was back up on his feet. “Anyway let’s get you a change of clothes while we wash these. Don’t worry you can keep the vest, just out of that prisoner unitard.” Shiro hadn’t really ever thought of changing out of it. He had become accustom to wearing it over the past year, he had forgotten it existed. Now having it pointed it out, he actually had infact been wearing it for over a year and that knowledge was starting to make his skin feel irritated. Lovely. He would be thinking about it until he changed out of these clothes.

He walked back into the bridge, where everyone else had already congregated. His vest had been cleaned and he had ridden himself of the unitard. It felt like he had one more thing that reminded him less of what had happened. Now all that was really left were the scars. Physical, emotional and the phantom.

He had been left alone while changing, privacy was obviously still a requisite, and he had been left time to think.

The Blade of Marmora. He was sure he had heard it. With enough pondering he remembered someone had saved him. Someone from the Blade. His name was Ulaz. He had held his head and tried to calm his racing heart. He reminded himself he was in the Castleship. He was safe.

He looked to the three remaining Paladins of the moment. Allura was observing the starmap while Pidge and Lance were chatting with one another, smiling and laughing. When he entered, the couple looked up to him and smiled, gesturing for him to come over.

“How the new clothes feel?” Asked Pidge from where she leaned on a chair.

“Form fitting.” Shiro moved his arms to show what he meant. He wasn't really complaining. He had gotten used to the sensation of tight clothes, and once the leotard was off he had felt weird. The new clothes on, he felt better.

“Yeah, I remembered from back in the day when you’d hang out with us you wore pretty casual sporty clothes. And with what you were wearing before you might find it weird to go back to baggy quickly.” Pidge replied. “Lance also sort of had a say.” Lance flashed him a grin as he lounged further onto the chair, his arms behind his head.

“Thank you.” Shiro then turned to Allura, “all of you.”

“No problem.” Pidge waved him off, like as if this was to be expected behaviour.

“Yup no big deal.” Chimed in Lance.

“You are a Paladin of Voltron, and a dear friend. It is but the least we could do.” Allura smiled kindly. An old friend has returned, of course they would treat him with kindness.

“I've been meaning to ask—the Blade of Marmora.” Allura blinked in surprise.

“How do you—wait-” she was about to say something, but Lance cut her off.

“Gave him a crash course in what he missed, briefly mentioned it.” Pidge whispered something to Lance, all the while snickering. Lance only muttered bitterly, his cheeks flushing, in reply. Her grin widened.

“A man helped me escape, he said he was from the Blade of Marmora. His name was-”

“Ulaz.” Allura said firmly.

“How do you-?” Now getting cut off recurringly was starting to grate on his nerves.

“I was told a member of the Blade had been in contact with you and implanted coordinates in your arm leading to him.” She informed curtly.

“And you didn't tell us this why?” Shiro turned to Pidge and Lance who were looking to her as if this had been the first time they had heard this.

“Because it was no longer pertinent to the mission at hand. Ulaz would have wanted us to find Slav and contact the main headquarters of the Blade, all of which we had already done.” Pidge only rolled her eyes and pouted.

“Still would've been nice.” She muttered. Allura gave her a look and sighed. She turned her eyes back to Shiro and regained a soft gaze, a soft hardened and hurt gaze, someone who had seen many things and what looking at something familiar, something they had lost. It was an attempt to be reassuring. He had done this himself many times before. It made Shiro think, _what had happened?_

“Do not worry about getting into contact with him. We have, but thank you for sharing this information.” Shiro looked to Allura one last time, but she had already returned to gazing at the starmap. She was deep in thought. Deciding not to bother her, he made his way over to Lance and Pidge. They greeted him cheerfully and gestured for him to sit down.

“Heyo Sheero’s lookin fine.” Lance finger gunned Shiro while Pidge placed a hand over her mouth, desperately trying to cover up her laughter.

“…” Pidge calmed herself down and looked up to Shiro.

“Sorry about that…bet him he couldn't say that to you with a straight face.” Pidge laughed again. Lance puffed his chest; his pride swelled.

“I've been meaning to ask—what became of Hunk?” Pidge leaned in, resting her elbows on Lance’s thighs and looked Shiro dead in the eyes.

“Well he strengthened our link with the Balmera. He was the designated diplomat to the planet. There was also the advances he made and we did together. Which reminds me, I gotta add those special visors to your suit to let you see black ghosts.” She tried to keep a grin, but it was obviously painfully nostalgic to talk about. Lance looked away, unable to really talk. The two had been close; a scar deep on the heart.

“We should probably hit the hay, big day tomorrow you know?” Lance yawned. “Allura, you should probably pack it up too.”

“I will, pack it up, as you say, when I have properly marked Galra territory versus Concord territory.” She waved them off. Lance rolled his eyes and hopped to his feet and stretched his arms.

“I'll see you later hon?” He leaned down to kiss her and she gave a quick peck and nodded to him.

“Yeah, just want to make sure I have all my information, then I'll join you.” Lance soon exited the bridge.

“I'll see you later Shiro?” She rose from her seat and made her way towards to door.

“Uh, yeah. Night.” Pidge gave him a hug, which Shiro awkwardly warmed up to and she left as quickly as she came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys. I'm gonna go on a short break from posting. I might still be writing it, but not as frequently bc projects tbh. I'm having a lot of fun writing this fic and I hope u guys like it too tbh. Sorry if this fic seems more character driven than story driven, that's just how a write tbh.


	12. Just once could he not be cut off?

Shiro was left alone, alone with the company of Allura. He looked around, Allura was wrapped up in her marking and he did not want to bother her. He decided it would be best to rest. They were right, a big day tomorrow. For now he would sleep and rest. Or well try to as his brain processed all of the information and try not to have nightmares and night terrors.

When he woke up, he was in the Castleship, which wasn't odd for the fact that he was in the halls, on the other end of the ship. Had he slept walk? He looked around and decomposed himself. He was near the bridge, he should check up on Allura, see if she was still in there, marking territory. He remembered she'd mentioned the Concord. He’d have to ask them what that was.

He approached the doors and stood in front of them, waiting for them to open. They took a while, which was peculiar, and opened without much of a hitch. Shiro walked in and noted an immediate difference. For one, Allura and Lance looked exactly like the day he vanished, next was Coran, young and supposedly died a few days prior, and Keith. Keith was alive. He looked tired, but alive.

“Kei-” Just once. _Just once could he not be cut off?_

“There’s no signal. We checked three times. Nada.” And then strange things started to happen. Pidge walked through him. _She walked through him._ That was absolutely creepy. He rationalized this must've been a dream. He attempted to pinch himself, but nothing. This must've been a dream.

“It's like poof, he vanished. Shiro’s gone with the wind.” Hunk made hand gestures.

Was his brain working out scenarios as to how the team was reacting to his absence? Still far better than his memories of the Gladiator ring.

“But that is not possible.” Allura firmly stated. She was having none of this.

Pidge and Hunk looked to each other and shrugged.

“What if he like time travelled or something?” Lance said off-handily, obviously not seriously. It was unanimously ignored.

“We need to go and keep moving.” Keith finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and all eyes were on him. “He wouldn't want us to sit here for the enemy to pick us off.” His voice was low, obviously pained. His fists clenched and Shiro could see Keith mutter under his breath. Patience yields focus. Suddenly he turned, staring Shiro dead in the eyes. For a second Keith’s eyes widened, but he shook his head.

“Keith, are you alright?” Allura raised her hand, noticing his spacing out as she was the closest.

“I'm fine.” He saw Keith take in a deep breath, linked with exhaustion.

Shiro woke up with the sound of knocking. He bolted out of bed and to his door, his dream pushed to the side for now, because it was nothing more than a dream, and when the door opened the person behind it jumped back in surprise, hands raised.

“Wow hey- ...you know I always wondered how you get ready quickly.” Pidge examined Shiro up and down. Shiro followed her gaze. Right. He had fallen asleep in his clothes. Pidge was already dressed in her paladin attire. “Everyone else is ready and at the bridge.” Pidge turned her head and sighed. She rubbed the back of her head. “God this is all so surreal. I honestly can’t wrap my head around it.” She muttered.

“The feeling’s mutual.” Shiro tried to play it off as a joke. Pidge rolled her eyes and thumped his chest.

“You’ve been taking it pretty well.” Her voice echoed dulled amusement.

Shiro gave a half-hearted smile, meant to be comforting, but was a mirror, broken and hastily put back together, to everyone else now. “I’ve always been a fighter.” The silence that settled was awkward. They avoided eye contact, not quite sure what to say next. Shiro opened his mouth but closed it in haste, not quite sure how to say it, or really what to say.

“Everyone’s in the bridge… you can come uh, come join us when you’re ready?” She made awkward hand gestures and waved him goodbye before leaving. Shiro exhaled, fatigue pressing down hard on his shoulders, and watched as the door closed in front of him.

When he had joined the others dressed in his armour, they all looked out in front of them with contemplation. Shiro followed their line of sight and his eyes widened at the sight that laid ahead. An intergalactic hub, far larger than Zarkon’s had been, far more full of colour and hustle and bustle.

Pidge turned around and perked up when she saw Shiro’s face.

“Welcome to Concord Headquarters!” She beamed. She was on the tips of her toes in excitement.

“So how long until the meeting?” Lance asked Allura suddenly.

“A few varga, why?” Allura raised her eyebrow.

“Oh no reason…” He his hands behind his back and rocked on the balls of his feet. Allura scrutinized him up and down, and suddenly clapped her hands together in excitement, startling all three other people, bringing the attention to them.

“You want to bring Pidge out on a date!” Lance raised his hands to shush her, but she was already gushing, and whooshing them out, telling them to have fun, be safe and that she could manage everything by herself for a few hours. They needed a well deserved break. Once the couple was out the door, Allura clapped her hands and turned back to Shiro, looking to her with disbelief. She tilted her head, curiosity written all over her face. “What?”

Pidge and Lance looked to each other, both surprised.

“Did she just…”

“Yup.” Pidge hooked her arm around Lance’s. “So where to sharpshooter?”

“Well last time we were here there was this shop I wanted to check out, I think it sold something similar to peanut butter cookies, since they’re your fav. Oh and also I think I remember seeing a place that sold Earth food.”

“Honestly you had me at peanut butter cookies.” She deadpanned.

They made their way down, to the hub, where people hustled and bustled about. They stood out, of course, as always. Paladins of Voltron were a rare sight and renowned throughout the Concord. Lance interacted with the people brave enough to approach them, while Pidge hung back. She wasn't a people person. A kid smiled to her and she awkwardly smiled back.

They were able to remove attention from them and continue on for a while, but the staring would remain. They looked to one another simultaneously and signed. They looked up to one another and laughed.

“The place sure has changed.” Pidge looked around. It had gotten a significant tech upgrade, one that had been well needed. The hub had previously been a husk of what it could have been. Refugees had been left to suffer in filth. When Allura got her hands on it, that all changed and it had become the best of the best. It was now one of the greatest intergalactic hubs.

“I mean it has been around for what, 8 thousand years?” Pidge playfully punched her husband’s arm.

“You know what I mean.”

Pidge stopped as she stared into one of the shops. There had been something that caught her eye, but she hadn't been quite sure as to what it was. Lance looked over her shoulder to see what she was staring at, it was nothing more than a necklace.

“Everything okay? You're kind of having a staring contest with glass.” Pidge shook her head.

“Yeah, no I'm fine. Necklace kind of just looks like the one my mom had.” She lowered her eyes and lifted her right hand to her left elbow, holding it tightly. Lance gave it some thought and walked into the store.

“Lance what are you doing.” Not two seconds sooner he was out of the store holding the necklace in his hands.

“Okay just move your hair so I can get this thing on you.” He bit his lips as he fiddled with the clasp on the necklace.

“Lance, honey. Did you just-”

“Buy a gift for my beautiful wife? Yes. Yes I did. Now hush and help me put this stupid thing on.” He huffed. He finally got it and cried triumphantly. Pidge rolled her eyes, but grinned and moved aside her hair as Lance put the necklace on her.

“There!” He grinned proudly. Pidge touched the trinket and felt sentimentality wash over her. Carefully, she placed it within the protection of her paladin suit, just for now so it would not get damaged.

“Thank you.” She hugged him tightly. Lance grinned and it quickly turned into a hairy look. Pidge snickered and pulled on her husband’s hand. “Now for you. I'm pretty sure I saw some… mixtos? Is that how you call them? Honestly I'm sorry if I'm butchering it or whatever but like yeah those Cuban sandwiches?”

“Lead.”

They sat down and ate together, chatting and snickering about various topics. They meandered around, looking at various parts of the hub. It wasn't all sunshine for everyone. Kids pick pocketing the unsuspecting, the refugees with nowhere to go and making the most of what they had, the black market. The larger the area, the more this type of thing thrived. They tried their best to accommodate to all, but there were always those who slipped through the cracks.

They were Paladins of Voltron. They wouldn't idly stand by and watch. Pidge looked up to her husband and told him to give her a moment. He crossed his arms and watched as he approached the small family. They conversed for a small bit and before they knew it, a new solid structure emerged into the building. While Lance wasn't surprised, it still left him speechless. Pidge waved him over.

“And this is Lance. He’s a doctor, so he can do a quick check up on your kids to make sure they’re okay.” It was a good thing Lance had 9 thousand years to familiarize himself with alien morphology and also alien tech to guide him or else he’d have choked up. He kneeled down and assessed the youngest first.

“Thank you, thank you kind Paladins. I've heard of your tales and I am honoured to know they are more than just legend.” Lance patted the last child on the head and rose back to his feet and looked to the alien parent.

“They’re all healthy, nothing too serious that can't be healed over a few days of rest. A bit undernourished though. I’ll see if I can get them to get rations your way.” The alien parent took Lance’s and Pidge’s hands, as gave a chant of thank you.

The alien family made haste to tell the news of the new home. It was a small thing they could do, though there was far much more to be done. Getting the rations would be hard, but it was work they were willing to deal with.

“Pidge, Lance? Oh it is nice to see you!” The couple turned around as they saw the approaching sight of the leader of the Balmerans, or well former leader apparently.

“Shay! Shouldn't you be getting to the meeting?” Pidge asked as she took her friend into a hug.

“And you?”

“Helped some refugees. Hey you wouldn't know where I could get into contact with those in charge of rations?” Lance asked suddenly.

“Why yes, I do.” Shay leaned over and passed Lance the information. He thanked her and placed his call, leaving Pidge and Shay to catch up. There was a silence that settled while Lance chattered away in the background.

“Has there been much on the Balmera lately?” Pidge decided to start idle conversation. Shay shook her head.

“No. I have stepped down as leader, though I am sure Allura has already informed you of that.” From Pidge’s reaction, Shay was right on the money, as Hunk would say. “But apart from that, the Balmera has been doing business with no change. And you?”

“Well-” before she could say anything Lance cut her off.

“Alright! That was a _lot_ easier than expected.” He huffed pridefully. He turned his head back to Shay and Pidge. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Uh no-no no. We should probably get going to the meeting anyway. We can continue where we left off after, right?” There was a look in Pidge’s eyes that Lance caught as a ‘please say yes’ and that he had interrupted her at the right time. Okay well that had worked out.

“Oh, yes of course! We can all catch up together, the princess included.” _And Shiro._ Pidge and Lance added awkwardly as they gave each other an awkward look that spoke a thousand words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk i just needed a break from coding anyway here *puts hands up in air* have this


	13. You can handle that big boy?

Shiro looked down in awe at the magnitude of people. So many different alien species, all cohabiting together. It wasn’t like when he was… No it was far different. They were free and lived peacefully. It was almost like some sort of futuristic communities you’d see in those movies, and yet it was real, right in front of his eyes.

“This is Nova, as I previously stated, Concord Headquarters, home of the Concord Alliance.” They boarded a glass structure. Shiro hesitated, but seeing Allura’s confused stare, followed her in, realizing it must of been, in some way, shape or form, safe. He placed his hand on the glass, leading forward to grasp the view. There were shops everywhere, some he could even make out as they were written in languages he knew. Humans were here. He wasn’t sure if that was good, or bad, but he prefered to be an optimist. Shiro turned around to face Allura.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, I’ve been hearing you talk about the Concord Alliance, but what is it?” Allura leaned back against the glass and Shiro followed her example.

“I’m surprised Lance didn’t explain it.” She muttered to herself. “The Concord Alliance, formerly known as the Voltron-Blade of Marmora Alliance, is well, an alliance between us, Voltron, the renegade faction the Blade of Marmora and allies.” Shiro nodded his head in understanding. “There’s a lot of things that have happened since you vanished… for better or for worse, I’m not sure if I am thankful for it, but I am thankful for your return.” She seemed sincere and vulnerable. Her words were heavy, but she was truly thankful.

“I’m just glad to be alive and in one piece, princess.” The shuttle jerked as they arrived to their destination.

The doors opened up before them and a myriad of colours reflected, scarlet and magenta like the sunset, cyan and azure like the day sky. It was a bizarre hybrid that surprisingly worked harmoniously together. Allura lead him to his left where a pair of guards stared them down, only to open the doors when they received proper confirmation from Allura.

“Early as always, Princess.” A husky voice called out to them as they entered the room.

“And you're always as ready as a fairfet.” She sounded rather smug. Shiro hung back, deciding to observe, rather than be a participant. “Olskor, it’s been far too long.” Olskor, who Shiro assumed was Galra from their general appearance, made a motion of rolling their eyes.

“And what is long to you, princess?” The small jab. Allura rolled her eyes in return this time and placed her hands on her hips.

“Come now, chatter aside, how have matters been with Haggar?”

“Reserved for meeting.”

“I would rather not have to repeat myself Allura.” Finally, the conversation settled, and Olskor noticed the black and white armour clad figure blending in with Allura’s red.

“Is that…?”

“Reserved for meeting.” Shiro noted, Allura could also play that game. Olskor grumbled under their breath and rolled their head to face the ground before looking back up and staring Allura in the eyes.

“Matters with Haggar have been stasis.”

“Was that so hard?” Allura was enjoying this far too much, she had moved her hands from her hips, to crossed in front of her chest, smugness seemed to be a new quality he could attribute to her.

“Don’t push it princess.” Allura uncrossed her arms and Olskor looked to Shiro now. “Now is that really him?” Allura stepped aside and took Shiro’s hand and Olskor’s, gently guiding them to one another.

“Olskor, leader of the Blade of Marmora.” Olskor grunted in acknowledgement. “Takashi Shirogane, pilot of the Black Lion.”

“Nice to meet you.” He shook the Galra’s hand.

“Like wise.”

“Alright!” Allura clapped her hands as she looked back to both of them. “Now that introductions have been taken care of, may we move on to setting up before everyone else’s arrival?” Olskor nodded their head. Allura began to walk off, but turned back to Shiro.

“Take a seat, I can have someone pull up old files for you while you wait.”

“Thank you.” Shiro replied. Allura smiled, before following Olskor’s fleeting form.

Shiro walked around the room, taking in the sights, but also feeling rather awkward. He glided his fingers along the table. The door behind him cracked open and he heard the clicking of heels grace his ears. Curiosity caught him as he observed the alien. This one was far different from Olskor, obviously not Galra.

She was rather petite and held a small device in her hands.

“The files requested, noble Paladin.” Shiro gingerly took the device. The alien gave what he could only assume was some form of salutation before exiting, but not without a final word. “My name is Tyola, if you need any additional help, please do not hesitate to ask.” And she exited.

Shiro looked to the door for a few seconds, before curiously tapping the device in front of him. He must of obviously pressed something correctly as a projection formed in front of his eyes.

There were information files and videos. They were all titled _The Battle of Hasquik_. He could make out 4 lions. Apparently this was one of their earlier victories against the empire, just at the beginning of the Concord Alliance. He eagerly read the information. History had always been a passion of his, despite the macabre implications and undertones this history implied, not just to the universe, but to him as well. What would've happened had he not vanished? Would the world be different? Obviously it would seeing as Zarkon might not have died like he apparently had after his disappearance.

Before he could over think himself too much, he heard familiar voice wake him from his stupor.

“Oh my god are those pictures from Hasquik?” Pidge had somehow climbed onto him to lean over his shoulder and look at the files. A bit miffed by the sheer fact she could do that, he raised and eyebrow, but Pidge ignored him and continued to look at _The Battle of Hasquik_. “Oh my god pre-mullet era Lance. _You look like a baby_.” She cooed. Shiro felt like when a couple looked at their silly baby pictures, but the implication hit him that technically these were baby pictures for the amount of time they had lived.

“At least I didn't look like _Harry Potter_.” Lance swiped through the pictures, landing on a large group shot. It was a group picture of the four remaining Paladins. Hunk, looking like he was well into his late 30s, timeless Pidge and Lance, as well as Allura dressed in the familiar red armour.

“Hey excuse you at least I still _looked_ good.” Pidge retorted, rather offended.

“That's a lie and we both know it.” Lance deadpanned as he crossed his arms.

“True.” Pidge nodded her head, not really disagreeing. She had been comfortable, but she looked like her brother with the glasses, it was a reminder at first, but once found, it no longer held purpose. “And if we're being honest, you actually look stunning, especially with the mullet. Billy Ray Cyrus can eat his heart out.”

“Than if we're being honest, the glasses weren't actually all _that_ ugly.” He muttered. “They were kind of cute.”

Pidge leaned in, a smile on her face. “ oh really.” The projection turned off as Pidge leaned in.

“Alright you two, if you want to be romantic, please leave my shoulder out of it.” Shiro gave a resigned sigh as he took Pidge by the waist and removed her from his shoulder and into Lance’s arms. They gave him a surprised look, before looking to one another and laughing.

They were off in their own bubble now, Shiro noted.

“Is that really you?” Shiro turned around and noted and elderly figured. It didn't take him long to figure out it was Shay. While old, she still looked similar to his memory of her, as brief as it might have been.

“…” He wasn't really sure what to say, but he nodded his head. He felt himself taken into a tight, bone crushing hug.

“It has been so _long_.” Her voice was emotional, heavy with years. “We had lost all hope. And yet you return, despite it all.” She pulled away and placed her hands on his shoulders. “It is good to see you, Shiro.”

“It's good to see you too, Shay.” She smiled, and Shiro could see so much hope, so much thanks. He had not been close to her, barely knew her, and yet here was so much anticipation.

The door opened once more, Allura returning from where she had been with Olskor. Two arms grasped his own and pulled him along to the side, Shay waved him goodbye with a bright smile on her face, before making her way to Allura.

“We’re just gonna hang back here. I might have to leave, so Pidge’ll stay by your side.” Lance hushed into his ear.

“You can handle that big boy?” Pidge nudged him jokingly.

“I think I’ll be able to follow, thank you.” Pidge made an ‘um hm’ sound as she readjusted her position. Things he would need to get adjusted to, Lance and Pidge being far older than him, and seeing him far more differently than what he was used to. And for that matter different than what he knew. Their appearances might lie to his brain, but the interactions were a wake up call to the difference.

He leaned back and decided to relax. Pidge and Lance made comments about things here and there, some informative, some more comedic in nature, which, to his chagrin, drew chuckles from him, keying the two on that yes, this course of action was one to peruse. Little shits. He gave them the evil eye each time, but each time they looked to one another and returned stronger.

Allura gave them a look of annoyance when she caught wind of them, but they feigned ignorance.  
  
Aliens began to wander in and take seats. The small alien from before, Tyola if he remembered right, walked over to Allura and whispered something to her. She nodded her head and with a thankful smile, wished her off. Tyola turned her head to catch a brief glance at Shiro, before flying out of the room. Lance whistled beside him.

“Aww Shiro’s got an admirer.” He gave Shiro a wry grin, but Shiro pushed him away. Some things obviously didn't change.

“Hey we both can’t blame her.” Pidge teased Lance. His face turned red, opened his mouth to say something, turned to look at Shiro, then hid his face in his hand, trying to hide it, rather terribly.

Oh.

_Oh._

Shiro bit his lips and raised his hand to cover the snort he let out, as well as to hide his face. Okay, embarrassment was still a thing for him, good to know.

“ _Oh my god Shiro_.” Pidge was giggling. She seemed to be enjoying the embarrassment bandwagon.

Allura sent another glare their way and it hushed them up for good. Pidge calmed herself down and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. Lance was still hiding his face away, only giving glances to Shiro through his fingers, while Shiro had calmed down completely.

The room filled up slowly. It wasn't peculiarly crowded, but the stairs and hushed whispers directed his way still bugged him. Shiro closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. He felt his mind begin to wander, and he heard voices, distant. At first he assumed it was the room, but when his eyes fluttered open, he was in the Castleship, and all he could see were three figures, all sitting beside one another. Two were rather obvious, Pidge and Hunk, and by process of elimination, the third one was Lance.

He was about to call out for them, but when he blinked, it was the meeting room, Lance had joined Allura’s side and Pidge’s hand was on his shoulder. She gave him a look of concern.

“You alright? You spaced out there.”

“Just… lost in thought you know?” He tried to give her his most convincing smile, but she wasn't convinced. Even so, she let it go.

“If- you can tell us anything, k? Just let us know if something isn't right?” Her eyes were pleading. She sounded like she was pleading.

“Promise.” He nodded his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm im finding myself distracted with other things tbh, mostly other shippy stuff t b h


	14. May you rest among the stars

They listened to the meeting attentively. Allura and Olskor were the leaders, followed by Lance and Olskor’s second in command who filled in for specifications when it was needed. From what he was understanding so far, they were discussing various tactics of defeating Haggar, all of which now involved Voltron.

Of course, there were a few skeptics in the crowd, wondering if it was actually Shiro and not just some trick. Of course Allura had come prepared. Pidge was up and filled in the blanks for those. Matters were quenched quickly and they could move onto more pressing matters.

Haggar had been greatly weakened, her fleets were limited. She was on her last stretch and they were here to hit hard and quick. They would use the last of the spies within the Galra empire, their sleeper agents, and deactivate the ship. From there they would use Voltron and destroy the fleet. Finally they would storm it and take Haggar down. Those were the basics of it. The details were well, detailed and intricate. They would discuss more with an AI named Slav.

The meeting was adjourned, and people discussed in groups as they exited the room. Many sent looks to Shiro as they left, but he made nothing of it. He had his attention on Allura who had stayed behind to talk to Shay.

“I know this may seem like-” Allura began.

“Yes.” Shay interrupted her.

“But- I… beg your pardon?” She looked to Shay startled.

“I accept to be your Yellow Paladin.” Allura took Shay’s hands. She stared keenly into yellow eyes., her face was serious.

“Your positive?”

“Princess, I have accepted your offer. What more may you ask of this old Balmeran?” Both of them laughed, rather airy in nature; a joke between just the two of them.

“So I guess that means you’re gonna live with us on the Castleship?” Pidge piped in.

“Oh man, we’re gonna have to introduce you to our kids!” Lance beamed. Pidge turned around, a large smirk on her face. His fate was sealed at that moment.

Shay looked to them all quaintly, as if she could ask for nothing more. “It seems I will.”

“We will meet you in 3 doboshes.” Allura decided.

And with that it was final. Voltron was once more.

* * *

 

Old bones marched onto the ship. Calloused hands touched the walls, familiarity taking over. Tired eyes looked over the statue of a dearly beloved, whose bones have already decomposed and who became one with the earth. Weak knees buckled, but did not fall.

“I'm sorry, you’ll have to wait a little longer.” Shay’s hand hovered over Hunk’s statue, before drawing away. Her eyes hovered over the plaque written on the bottom.

 **_Theodore “Hunk” Savea_ **  
**_Yellow Paladin of Voltron_ **  
**_Balmeran Ambassador_ **  
**_2004-2367_ **  
**_A great mind, a caring heart and a vision to it all. He has done so much for us all. He gave, he gave and he gave. Rest soundly, knowing of what you have done. May you rest among the stars._ **

She touched the plaque fondly, and the nostalgia hit her instantly. His smile, his eyes, his aura. To her, he was the sunshine she had never seen. He was always shining so bright, excited, happy, scared. His emotions were never unknown.

He came into her life so quickly, and he was gone so soon.

There was a knock that drew her attention. She turned around and noticed a figure—Lance, she quickly realized—standing at the entrance of the alcove.

“I thought you’d end up here.” He walked over and stood beside Shay. She was rather tall, compared to him. She had grown more than when since he had first meet her. Now he came up to her shoulders.

Shay said nothing.

“You know, he always talked about you. He truly did love you.” He began to reminisce. He could feel his eyes starting to glaze over.

“And him, you.” He looked up to meet her eyes. They both held a bitter taste in their mouths. The taste of losing someone you loved so dearly. “Do you think he would be proud of what I’ve done? Who I have become?”

“Yes. He’d be so proud he’d start crying.” Lance could feel the tears at the back of his eyes. Seven thousand years and the phantom pain on his heart was still there. He bit his lips tightly and breathed in sharply, trying to calm himself down.”We should get back to the others. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Shiro and Pidge chatted amiably as he ogled the starmap with the glee of a child who had gotten their hands on a new toy. Allura sat a distance away, looking at them and listening to something, possibly music.

When Shay entered the room, all attention was on her and she was greeted warmly. Shiro smiled and shook her hand. Pidge gave a chipper greeting with a small wave, while Allura took her hands, rubbed circles with her thumbs, before taking her into a hug.

It was personal, and all emotions came rushing to the surface. Allura was glad, so glad to be gifted with a family once more. The halls of her castle would no longer be silent with the sad cries of her eternal peers, the constant she would of come accustom to having for the rest of her life. Now she had Shiro, someone they thought to have lost, returning to them, and Shay. Shay who she had seen for centuries. Shay who she attempted to join, who had been a kind surprise, who now permanently joined her life.

She would no longer be a morbid princess, slowly decaying in her castle. She had a family once more.

“It's so good to have you. Welcome. Welcome Yellow—no. Welcome to our family.” She pulled away, and firmly held Shay’s hands.

“I would prefer a welcome home, between you and I.” Shay whispered into the princess’ ear. Allura looked at her, eyes wide, and she laughed.

“Welcome home.”

She enjoyed a fine meal with them all, telling old stories and making jokes. They offered her a tour, and she accepted.

They showed her the greenhouse, the bridge, the archives, the hangar bay and her sleeping quarters. By the time they arrive to the sleeping quarters, they had all left, save Allura. She wished her a goodnight, and that if she needed anything, be not afraid to reach out.

Shay entered her room and sat on her bed, but sleep would not take her just yet. The Yellow Lion called for her, and it was a tug she could not resist.

She exited her quarters and made her way to the hangar. She took the zip line down and dare she say it, it was quite fun. She arrived in the cockpit of her Lion, and she was immediately greeted with warm welcomes.

So the Lions were sentient and this was the bond they held. There was purring welcoming her onto the team. She awkwardly patted the dash, and saw the script change from what she recognized as human English script to Balmeran. The Lions adapted to their users.

She heard the Yellow Lion was the easiest Lion to pilot. She was kind and accepted her new pilots with ease. Shay quickly realized the statement was true. Her Lion was frustrated from being pent up for the past seven millennia.

She remembered when she had found out she was the new paladin. She remembered it vividly.

It had been the anniversary of Hunk’s passing. She had come to the Castle to pay her respects. That time though, it had been different. Not unlike this time, she had felt something call out to her, and soon she had found herself in front of the Yellow Lion’s hangar door. With that it had been decided. She was the new Yellow Lion Paladin.

But she couldn't. She needed to lead her people.

She wondered what would have happened had she joined in that day. Would the war have been over sooner?

It was too late to lament on the past now. What is done, is done and now she needed to move forward. She needed to be strong as a leg of Voltron. She was a pillar of support for the team. Her Lion purred in response and leaned down. She noticed a pacing form.

She was not just a pillar of support for Voltron, but also _for her team, for her leader_.

She exited her Lion and gathered the attention of the pacing figure.

“I see I am not the only one who cannot sleep tonight.” She chuckled. Shiro spun on his heels and stood confidently, but she could see the bags under his eyes.

“Hello…Shay.” He seemed rather tense.

“Do you want to walk with me?” She gestured before her, Shiro followed the direction of her hand and nodded. Shay smiled and began to walk.

They walked along in silence, only guided by the luminescent blue of the lights and the occasional expanse of space one could see from the occasional window.

“We may barely know one another, and I may have only just arrived, but if I have learned anything from Hunk, it's to know when people need your help.” Shay turned her head to Shiro, and smiled kindly, but he didn't respond. His eyes had glazed over and he stared off into space.

Shay raised her eyebrows confused, and called out for the Black Paladin to rise him out of his stupor, yet it did not work. She carefully touched his shoulder, but nothing. Shay realized she couldn't just leave Shiro alone in the hall. She carefully grabbed his hand and attempted to lead him back to their sleeping quarters, but he would not budge.

It was time to do this the hard way. May Shiro forgive her. She picked him up and made sure he was carefully placed over her shoulder.

She knocked on a few doors, confused, and drew the attention of the other Paladins. They laid Shiro down on his bed, and stayed by his side. Shay lingered in the back, hoping that whatever put Shiro in this situation, he could make it out of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3cccc also yeah lol im close to catching up w/ where i am in my writing progress, but i really wanted to post an update bc i don't want to forget and lose motivation, but also finals. E H. anyway uh i tend to proofread, but if there are any typos sorry in advance i'll get back to them later. For now enjoy this mess of a fic.


	15. Form Voltron?

When Shiro blinked, he was no longer walking silently by Shay’s side in the halls of the castle, instead he found himself alone. He looked around, he was obviously still in the castleship. What changed? Where was Shay? He could hear chatter from a distance away. When they came closer, he could make the voices out as Allura and Keith. They seemed to be in a heated argument on topics he did not know.

He expected for them to walk through him as usual, but they paused, both looking to the position where he stood. Wasn't this supposed to be a scenario his mind made up?

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice quivered and shattered Shiro’s heart into a million pieces. Allura’s equally shock and grief stricken look made him feel like a ghost. A ghost who shouldn't even be there.

Before he could even respond, he could hear faint voices calling out to him, and with a deep gasp for air, Shiro found himself back in his bed, surrounded by the familiar faces he had become acquainted to over the past week and not that of the supposed dead. 

“Oh god, it's good to have you back among the living.” Lance breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Are you alright? According to Shay, you froze up in the middle of your conversation.” Allura was sitting down on a chair beside his bed, while the others were standing around her. 

“I'm fine…probably just stress.” He attempted to reassure. Allura frowned. 

“I mean you did freeze up because of triggers in the middle of a training simulation and a few times in battle.” Lance spoke aloud to himself. He turned his head to Shay. “What did you guys talk about?”

Shay leaned over and whispered it into his ear. Pidge must of overheard because she two had a quizzical expression. 

“I need some space.” He realized he probably sounded to demanding. “If that’s alright to ask?” He looked to all the occupants who had made themselves comfortable in his quarters. The room cleared out with various talk of him calling if he needed anything.

When he was finally alone, Shiro sighed. He felt himself overwhelmed. The group had been a little tight knit before, but that had been amplified. Which wasn't a bad thing, personally, but it had been a little overbearing. Personal space, that's all he asked for.

He thought back to what he saw. The heartbroken stares, the quiver in his voice. The look on her face. Their eyes. What did it mean? He didn't quite understand himself. Were they dreams? He wasn't even sure anymore. If they weren't, then what were they exactly. 

Shiro considered maybe everyone else got the memo, because after the incident, they left him to himself. Enough time to collect his bearings, but that meant he had been left out of the loop. 

He walked into the bridge to find Allura staring at the screen, the Blue, Yellow and Green Lions on screen.

He ran over quickly adrenaline taking over.

“Are we being attacked by the empire?” Allura turned to him, as calm as if there were no problems in the world.

“Heavens no. Pidge and Lance are teaching Shay to pilot her Lion.” She turned back to the screen and tapped something on the console. All too familiarly, he remembered when she had done that to them. The castle defences when off in a barrage against the three. 

“ALLURA WHAT THE HELL?” Pidge’s voice crackled over the intercom.

“I've modified the castle defences and concluded this to be the opportune moment to test them out. Be strong Paladins!” Allura blocked out the intercom fed and turned to Shiro. She smiled brightly. As usual, Allura reminded him she was not to be trifled with. “Shall we be going?” 

“Where exactly?”

“Our Lions of course. I understand if you aren't ready to embark just yet.” All too polite as she ever was. 

“And the castle defences?” He was a bit worried for the other three. Those castle defences were nasty and he didn't want to know how much they improved in the last ten thousand years.

“Oh? It's on a timer, no need to fret.” She waved him off dismissively. Okay well, that was a good improvement to hear. They took the zip line down. 

Shiro heard the familiar roar of Black. She welcomed him back warmly as her systems booted up. Soon the familiarity of flight was back with him. 

As Allura had said, the castle defences had stopped, leaving Pidge, Lance and Shay time to regroup.

“Paladins—”

“Team—” 

Both Allura and Shiro stopped. Right, Shiro had still be leading before his disappearance and Allura had been leading since his disappearance (well more precisely Keith’s death, but he wasn't willing to think of that.) Allura conceded, she would need to reintegrate now that the decisive head of Voltron returned. With a far more firm feeling to his voice, Shiro took it from the top.

“Team, Form Voltron!”

It hadn’t exactly gone as planned. The familiar feeling was there, he could feel them becoming one, and then, nothing. It was like something out of reach to him. Just barely there, and yet not at the same time.

“Would it be best to try again?” The team could hear Shay whisper through the comms. 

“Form Voltron!” He was sure everyone screamed, all to reminiscent of the times they first attempted to form Voltron. The answer was obvious, they weren’t in synch with one another. That meant it was back to the drawing board with team building exercises. It should've been obvious, this was no longer the same team. These were no longer young eyes—disillusioned; fearful. No, these were these of those who had seen hardship and trauma—his own eyes. It was one thing to get to know these new people, it was another to work with them once more.

* * *

 

“ _ Majesty _ ,” a hushed voice called out in the dark room, “ _ we have heard rumours of the return of the Black Lion. _ ” Sitting atop her throne, slowly withering away, sat a being of pure white hair and yellow eyes. She grimaced.

“ _ Confirm those rumours, Lieutenant, or face penalty for treason.”  _ She had no time for idle gossip, the empire Zarkon had tried to built was crumbling beneath her tips and she did not want to have this piled up on top of humiliating defeat.

But the prospect of her potential champion returning to her was a wonderful idea indeed. 

She would watch as the pathetic creature murdered his friends with his own hands. Grab those pesky creatures with their ghosts of unknown black substance. She could finally get her hands on them and use it for herself. 

So many prospects opened before here. All with the word of pesky gossip.

“ _ Yes, your Majesty. Vrepit sa. _ ” The Lieutenant left, leaving Haggar alone. She looked into the vastness of space. Space truly wasn't that vast. It had fictional boundaries set up by creatures unable to understand nothing belonged to them. Nor would it ever. Yet the idea of controlling it all was one she could never pass up. 

“Finally the war may turn in our favour, Zarkon.” She muttered to herself. When she had her hands in that pesky Lion, she would make sure it fell to rubble. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished school and uh.... got distracted by a returning otp w h o o p s


	16. Ghost of Shiro Past

Allura finished off a transmission with Olskor on Galra Empire movement, planning the date of the final attack. Haggar was already weak, but with a little more push and shove they could take her down in one swift blow.

They drank their bagged water in peace, sprawled across the couch. Pidge and Lance were leaning against one another, cooing to one another between sips and playing a small foot war. Shay attempted to take up the least amount of space as possible, but with little success. Shiro reassured her that it was all good.

“The end of this war seems to be coming sooner than we thought. Not even a year's time according to Olskor and their analyzers.” She didn't seem all too happy with that statement though. 

“That's good right? Why don't you look like you want to celebrate?” Lance looked around, unsure why everyone else was not as ecstatic as he was. The subtext of the situation caught him. 

“They will be relying on Voltron.” Allura nodded her head to Shay.

“And if we can't form Voltron in time, the war will prolong.” And that was the nail on the coffin, added by Shiro himself. 

The team sat in silence, mulling over the information that had been dealt. The core idea was clear. They needed to be able to form Voltron in time, first though they needed to be able to function as a team once again. A team that was in synch. 

Allura hadn’t pulled this contraption out in centuries, and almost felt nostalgic when she saw it once more. It was when Shiro, Pidge, Lance, Keith and Hunk started out as Paladins, to connect their minds and work as one. It was worth a try. Teamwork wasn't an issue, to an extent, she supposed anyway. There was a problem none of them knew how to solve. 

With the contraptions placed atop of their heads, they concentrated on a memory, trying to bond with one another. They could see one another. There were mountains and juniberries, there was Earth, there was the Balmera, there was the Castleship and then there was nothing.

The concentration broke. 

Shiro looked down to his hands. He couldn't see the others. He couldn't see their memories or their thoughts. There was nothing. There was absolutely nothing. It was black and a loud buzzing in his ears. The team looked to him concerned. 

“Again.” Shiro wouldn’t let this deter him. They tried once more, and it was a rinse and repeat. The more Shiro tried, the more he saw figures from long ago, forgotten with time, dead and gone back to stardust. 

There was exhaustion on their shoulders. Shiro dared not admit it to himself, but he was growing desperate. He could feel them, and yet there was nothing. Absolutely nothing from his team. They all seemed exhausted from the continuous mental strain.

“Once More.” 

“That’s the twentieth time Shiro.” Pidge whined frustratingly. She was panting, sweaty and exhausted. They all were, but Pidge was the only one vocal enough to speak her mind. 

“We should probably give it a break for now and come back to it another day.” Lance jumped in, adding his own little addition.

Shiro turned himself to Allura and Shay.

“Rest would be for the best.” Shay agreed with the other two. Allura seemed pensive, unsure of how to respond to him. There was something bugging her too.

“Allura?” Shiro asked. She looked him in the eyes, and there was something he was able to read. She found herself a dilemma she wasn't able to solve, but found herself determined to find the solution.

“One more time, and then we cease today’s activities.” There was a small groan, but they complied with the princess. 

Shiro concentrated, and found himself sitting alone on the floor of the training deck. Alone, yet it didn't feel as such. He looked around, but there was no one in sight.

Was he back in the past? Now of all times? He groaned. This was getting a little frustrating. Was this going to be a normal thing of sorts? He hoped not, but his mind was telling him otherwise. It was going to be a normal thing.

All of a sudden, a myriad of voices began to scream within his mind. All the disembodied voices of his team. All yelling at once. To say the least, it was a cacophony. A cacophony he greatly appreciated.

 

_Holy Quiznak, is the Caslteship?_

 

_Shiro is everything alright?_

 

_I think someone is coming through the door._

 

It was Shay’s voice who told him of the sound of the door.

 

_Okay so team bonding exercise malfunctioned and now we're in some freaky Shiro dream sequence with no bodies._

 

_Lance hush it._

 

_Is that—_

 

Lance’s voice caught a whimper as a large figure walked through the door. Shay gasped. It was Hunk. A young Hunk. He seemed tired, fairly tired. The door closed, and Hunk looked up. His eyes widened.

“Shiro—.” There was a gasp, and sob started to take him over. “Shiro is that really you?” He was sobbing now. He slowly made his way forward, before moving into a run, hands outstretched, ready to hug their previously missing leader. Contact was never made, and like a ghost, Hunk went through him.

 

_Uh what just happened?_

 

_It seems Shiro’s current form is his quintessence._

 

_So like a Force Ghost?_

 

_Oh my god._

 

Shiro tried his best to ignore Pidge comparing him to a Force Ghost because he was alive. They all knew he was alive and he was not okay with the idea of the team joking about him being some sort of undead spectral figure. That left the case of Hunk, Shiro quickly realized. He tended to jump to conclusions when his anxiety was off the walls, for the better and for the worst. This time it might be the latter rather than the former.

“Oh god Oh god oh god Shiro’s a ghost and he’s come back to haunt us.” Hunk slapped his hands to his cheeks. His breathing hitched, and he carefully turned his head back to look at Shiro, who had his hands raised.

“Hunk, I’m not dead. I’m not a ghost.” Shiro attempted to reassure. He should've expected it not to work. 

“That’s what all ghosts say!” Hunk screamed, pointing his finger at Shiro, who only sighed. With his hands still raised, he slowly walked forward towards Hunk, who cautiously took a step back at the approaching figure.

“Hunk, it’s alright. I’m not dead. The corrupted wormhole only—” before he could even explain, Hunk was gone and he was surrounded by the familiar faces of the future. They looked to him, rather shocked and confused by their current experience. The headgear was discarded to the side in preference of not repeating the incident that had just occurred. Allura was the first to rise, slowly making her way towards Shiro, a sort of understanding and knowing in her step that Shiro had not previously seen. She seemed to have far more of a grasp on the situation than everyone else, including himself.

She kneeled at his side, placing a hand atop of his shoulder. “Is this the first time this occurs?” She asked. He looked around to the others, but they were still speechless. Allura brought Shiro’s eyes back to her. He was having this conversation with her, not the others.

“No.”

“How many other times has this occurred?”

“Three.”

“Uh hello, people who have _no idea_ what’s going on over here.” Pidge waved to Allura from where she sat. Both Shiro and Allura drew their attention to the other three. Both Lance and Shay seemed a little overwhelmed from seeing Hunk again and were taking a backseat to the conversation. “Can you explain _what the heck just happened?_ ”

“Shiro’s quintessence seems to have remained in the past.” Allura spoke nonchalantly.

“Okay yeah that makes perfect sense—WHAT?” Shiro and Allura flinched from the screech, but it drew Lance and Shay back into the conversation. Pidge pressed a finger to her glasses, readjusting them. She raised a finger, telling the two to give her a second as she processed the information. She took a deep breath, covering her mouth and nose with her hands in a sort of praying fashion. She raised her gaze to Allura and Shiro. “You’re telling me. That it’s easy for you to come to the conclusion, Shiro’s quintessence got stuck in the past. But the idea of time travel took you some time to adjust to?”

Allura blinked, a bit surprised. “Yes, I suppose so.” She agreed, as if she could not see anything wrong in Pidge’s statement.

Pidge’s head fell, as she shook it incredulously. “Oh my god.” She seemed dumbfounded by it all. Allura still could not understand exactly why Pidge was acting the way she was. It was a logical conclusion Allura had come to.

“Quintessence is known to move freely through time and space. It has happened in the past that the Quintessence of the deceased visit the future or past to visit relatives, before becoming one with the universe. While I have not been witness to it, I have heard stories from others.” Allura informed Pidge. She nodded, though a bit skeptically. Still, she wasn’t one to talk. She was an Ajin and could produce Black Ghosts from invisible black matter.

“And how exactly may this issue be solved?” inquired Shay.

Allura shook her head. “I’m not quite sure. I’ve never heard of this happening to a living person. It’s neither happening the same way as the stories I have heard.”

Lance’s head perked up, and he seemed as if a light bulb had gone off for him. “Allura, you can manipulate quintessence right?” Allura turned her head to Lance, curious to where he was leading on with this.

“Yes, why? 

“Couldn’t you just bring it back?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’s how quintessence works hun.”

“Yeah we’ll I’m just trying to help.” He retorted.

Allura seemed a bit pensive. “Perhaps. I will look into that option, as it is the only one we have for now.” Allura turned her head to Shay. “Would you mind helping me with this?” Shay nodded her head, rising from where she sat on the ground and followed Allura out, leaving Lance, Shiro and Pidge alone.

Lance still looked as if he was deep in thought.

“It’s been an eventful day, head back and get some rest.” Shiro rose from where he sat cross legged on the floor, making his way over to the two, tapping both of them reassuringly on the back and making his way towards the exit.

“What’s gonna happen to us?” Lance voice was so small, Shiro had to do a double take. Pidge leaned in, hovering a hand over Lance’s arm. She seemed a bit unsure as to what he was going on about. “In Sci-fi movies, when this sort of thing happens, someone from the future going to the past, the future is always the loser in the end. _What’s gonna happen to us?_ ”

“They're just movies Lance. We don’t actually know. And hey, we’re still here now?” Pidge attempted to reassure. Shiro opened his mouth, deciding to add onto the conversation, but Pidge only glared at him. Not another word. Shiro slowly closed his mouth. This wasn’t his place to speak. He was overstepping a boundary. A very personal boundary. He clenched his right hand, and decided to head to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll be making updates a bit slower, I'm sorry if this happens to be a bother, but I would prefer to take this slowly. I still very much like this fic, and I want to finish it, but I need to tell myself "it's alright to take things slow". I would like to thanks everyone who sticked w/ this fic and with me, I hope you all still enjoy it for future updates to come!

**Author's Note:**

> scream with me @saltwaterdragon on tumblr. we can cry together. i promised no more voltron, but plance stole my fucking heart


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